After Winning NCAA Indoor Championships, Oregon Women, USC Men Seek Big Ten Outdoor Titles  

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

DyeStat photos

In a first-of-its-kind conference championship, a coast-to-coast Big Ten will contend its outdoor meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. this weekend. The three-day event begins Friday and runs through Sunday with 17 schools in attendance. (Northwestern does not have a track and field program). 

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Here is a look at the top athletes from all 17 schools eligible to compete, from near to far:

Oregon (0 miles)

The host Ducks have always held great value in winning the conference meet and men and women both won their first Big Ten titles at the indoor championship. 

The Oregon lost some key pieces from its NCAA Indoor title team but plugged some fresh faces in with the addition of Kenyan distance runners Diana Cherotich and Juliet Cherubet, who lead the entries in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 this weekend. That's a potential 36 points. 

NCAA indoor hurdles runner-up Aaliyah McCormick is back in the 100 hurdles. Olympian Klaudia Kazimierska is in the 800 meters along with teammates Mia Barnett and Ella Nelson. 

Silan Ayyildiz and Barnett top the entries of the 1,500. Ella Clayton is ranked fourth in the 400. Katie Clute is fourth in the steeplechase. 

In the field, Oregon has Emily Fitzsimmons in the pole vault and Ryann Porter in the triple jump, but is very thin in the throws. Kohana Nakato is ranked eighth in the javelin. 

The Oregon men got a boost when Simeon Birnbaum ran a personal best in the 1,500 last weekend at the Oregon Twilight, an indication he could be ready to compete with the top racers in the conference. Rheinhardt Harrison and Evan Dorenkamp will also be in the mix. 

NCAA indoor champion Matthew Erickson is in the 800 meters, along with Koitatoi Kidali. Aiden Smith is one of five Ducks who will try to score in the 10,000. 

Benjamin Balasz is the top entry in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. 

Kobe Lawrence (shot put/discus), Aidan Elbettar (discus), Shaun Miller Jr (high jump), Kyle Gibbs (pole vault), Safin Wills (long jump and triple jump), Pat Vialva (javelin) and Koby Kessler and Aidan Carter (decathlon) are all capble of scoring for the Ducks.  

Washington (248 miles)

The Huskies rose up and won conference titles for the first time since the 1920s on the men's side before leaving the Pac-12 Conference. 

Miler U will target its strong suits again with middle-distance firepower. 

Nathan Green, upset in the NCAA Indoor mile final, will take on Wisconsin's Adam Spencer in the 1,500 meters after leading the Washington men to a 4x1,500 title at Penn Relays. Ronan McMahon-Staggs and Rhys Hammond will try to make the 1,500 a very big event for the Huskies. 

Kyle Reinheimer is second in the conference in the 800. Evan Jenkins and Jamar Distel are among the top contenders in the 5,000. Scott Toney is the favorite in the men's pole vault. Prestin Artis, last year's Pac-12 long jump champion, would love to add a Big Ten title. 

Jami Schlueter is ranked second in the decathlon. 

The women's team is led by the indomitable 1-2 of pole vaulting twins Amanda and Hana Moll, who are again ranked first and second in the NCAA. 

Chloe Foerster is entered in the 800 meters, an event where she is ranked ninth in the NCAA. Teammate Sophie O'Sullivan is ranked 10th. 

Mia Cochran, Julia David-Smith and Amina Maatoug are poised to do damage in the 1,500 and 5,000. 

UCLA (734 miles)

Fresh off a sweep of cross-town rival USC in the annual dual meet, UCLA will test its depth at the conference level. 

As it showed in the dual, UCLA has scoring potential in a lot of events. 

The women will look to keep pace with Oregon and USC for the team title. Sprinters Naomi Johnson and Taylor Snaer could pull points out of the 100 and 200 in deep fields to give the Bruins a lift. 

Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck is at the top of conference in the 100 hurdles and teammate Celeste Polzonetti could also score. Sydney Johnson is the top-ranked long jumper in the conference so far this spring. She's also a contender in the heptathlon.

Alyssa Conyers and Kayla McBride (400), Sonia Virk (400 hurdles) are all potential scorers. Freshman Valentina Fakrogha (high jump), Jana van Schalwyk (javelin) and pole vaulter Ka'Leila Abrile are also key pieces. 

Gabriel Clement II is in the 400, Di'Niko Bates (110 hurdles), Raymond Parker (800), Tamaal Myers II and Zaire Waring (400 hurdles) and Allan Hunter (long jump) are the core of the Bruins' effort on the men's side. 

Michael Pinckney (discus) and Kris Emig (hammer) could also pick off some important points. 

USC (738 miles)

USC won its first NCAA Indoor title in men's track and field in a half century in March and the Trojans want to keep the same formula going for a run at the Outdoor title in June. The team will come into Hayward Field knowing full well that a DQ in the 4x400 prevented it from winning the Big Ten indoor title. 

Sprinters Max Thomas, Garrett Kaalund and Eddie Nketia have all run unwind-aided times under 10 seconds in the 100 meters this spring. Those three figure to score big points in the 100, 200 and the 4x100 relay. 

JC Stevenson is going in the long jump this weekend. Johnny Brackins is in both hurdles events. William Jones is the top entry in the men's 400 meters and a key to the 4x400 relay, along with Jacob Andrews. 

Elias Gerald comes in as the second-highest high jumper behind Tyus Wilson of Nebraska. Jaren Holmes is ranked second in the triple jump. Racquil Broderick is ranked first in the discus. 

The USC women, like the men, will be looking to run up big points in the sprints with one of the deepest groups in the country. 

Samirah Moody, Dejaz Defrand, Brianna Selby and Jassani Carter are all ranked among the top six in the conference in the 100. Adding Madison Whyte to the mix, USC owns the four best times in the 200. Whyte and Yemi John are 1-2 in the 400. 

Nonah Waldron in the 100 hurdles, Ashley Erasmus in the shot put and Jada Foreman in the triple jump and Reese Garland in the discus are all key pieces to a potential run at the women's team title. 

Nebraska (1680 miles)

Last year, the Cornhuskers won the men's Big Ten title by 50 points. And in a couple of field events, Nebraska is poised to post big numbers. 

Tyus Wilson became Nebraska's first NCAA Indoor champion in 16 years when he won the high jump in March at Virginia Beach, Va. Wilson is the clear favorite to win that event this weekend and he has a pair of teammates, Reid Nelson and Mason Kooi, who could both score. 

Bahamian javelin thrower Keyshawn Strachan is the NCAA leader in the javelin. Teammates Dash Sirmon, Arthur Petersen and Hayden Gorovitz are all among the top six in the conference. 

On the track, Nebraska has Kavian Kerr in the 100 meters and Niko Schultz and Pradeep Senthilkumar in the 800.

In the field, Dyson Wicker (pole vault), Cade Moran and Max Otterdahl (shot put and discus) and Till Steinforth (long jump) could keep Nebraska in the team title picture. 

High jump is also big for the women. Jenna Rogers and Karsyn Leeling are among the favorites and both have gone over 6 feet. 

The women also have Darby Thomas in the 100, Jacelyn Neighbors and Kylie Fox in the pole vault, Kalynn Meyer and Kellyn Kortemeyer in the discus and shot put; Maddie Harris and Jenessa Ruder in the javelin, Lishana Ilves and Velecia Williams in the horizontal jumps and Favour Wanjoku in the heptathlon. 

Minnesota (1782 miles)

The Minnesota women are the defending Big Ten champions but the newcomers to the conference will make it very difficult to repeat. 

The standout on the women's teams is Anthonett Nabwe, who is one of the top hammer and discus throwers in the country and also capable of scoring this weekend in the shot put. 

Zoie Dundon and Isabelle Schmitz are ranked second and third in the conference in the steeplechase. The Gophers also have Diarra Sow and Brooke Moore in the triple jump, Maja Maunsbach in the 100 hurdles, Dyandra Gray in th 400 hurdles, Ali Weimer in the 10,000 and a pair of 5-10 high jumpers who could scrape a point or two. 

Hammer is a big event for the men. Angelos Mantzouranis and Kostas Zaltos are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the NCAA right now. Zaltos was second at the NCAA Championships in 2023, Mantzouranis was third at NCAAs last year.  

Minnesota also has NCAA No. 2 Hakeem Ford in the triple jump and could add a second scorer in that event with Precious Opinion. Charles Godfred is NCAA#2 in the long jump. 

Devin Augustine is the team's top threat in the sprints. Christian Martin, Michael Buchanan and Spencer Brown are all in the top nine in the conference in the 110 hurdles. 

Jak Urlacher is a contender in the pole vault and Isaiah Schafer could add points in the shot put.

Iowa (1806 miles)

The Iowa men have a potent combination of hurdlers, throwers, relays and multis that could make some noise this weekend at Hayward Field. 

Kalen Walker brings some excitement in the flat 100 meters, where he owns a legal 10.06, but running over barriers the team has Kai Graves-Blanks in the 110 hurdles, Isaac Lewis in the 400 hurdles and Luke Knepp in the steeplechase and all of them could score well. 

Mike Stein is ranked second in the javelin, freshman Bryce Ruland could surprise in the discus and Hawkeyes have three in the men's hammer. Abraham Vogelsang and Sal Capaldo are both looking to score in the decathlon. 

Senior sprinter Lia Love (100/200) and freshmen Chioma Nwachukwu and Damaris Mutunga (400) will look to mix it up with USC's best in those events and in the relays. Alli Bookin-Nobisch is ranked third in the conference in the 800 meters. 

The women also have likely scorers in the field with Maria Arboleda in the high jump, Maud Zeffou-Poaty in the long jump, Daniela Wamokpego and Jeanne Le Goff in the triple jump and Elizabeth Korczak in the javelin. 

Wisconsin (1996 miles)

The Wisconsin men are in the hunt for the men's team title this weekend and will try to maximize its strengths in the distance events and the throws. 

Adam Spencer is the Big Ten leader in the 1,500 meters after running 3:34.57 at the Australian National Championships in late April. Bob Liking could sweep the 5,000 and 10,000 for the Badgers and Matan Irvi could also finish high in the 5,000. Nick Giles is a likely top placer in the steeplechase. 

In the throws, Wisconsin needs big points out of Jason Swarens, Joseph White and Andrew Stone in the shot put, White and Jake Schaefer in the discus, Cole Hooper in the hammer and Jacob Zednik in the javelin. 

Jalen Williams (400) and Giovanni Wearing (110 hurdles) are also key pieces. 

The women are not as deep. Emma Kelley is ranked fourth in the 800 meters, Shea Ruhly has potential to score in both the 5,000 and 10,000. 

NCAA Indoor weight throw champion Taylor Kesner is entered in the discus and javelin. Chloe Lindemann (hammer), Zonica Lindeque and Danni Langseth (shot put) and Shaina Zinter (heptathlon) are also potential scorers. 

Illinois (2113 miles)

The Illinois women are loaded in the field events but that should still leave them in the middle of the pack of the overall team standings. 

Rose Yeboah is No. 1 in the NCAA in the high jump and the lllini could also get points from Bara Sajdokova in the event. 

Tacoria Humphrey was the NCAA Indoor runner-up in the long jump. Abria Smith is the Big Ten leader in the shot put. Tori Thomas and Mia Morello are both factors in the pole vault. And Phethisang Makhethe is third in the conference in the hammer. Freshman Lucie Kienast could make a big impact in the heptathlon if healthy. 

It's also a homecoming of sorts for Sophia Beckmon, who became an Oregon high school legend at Oregon City. She recently ran 23.06 in the 200 and is contender in the long jump.  

On the track, the women have Azariah Bryant (100/200) and Halle Hill (1,500/5,000) looking to scratch out a couple of points. 

The men are led by field eventers Kamyren Garrett (high jump), Cody Johnston (pole vault), Viktor Morozov (triple jump) and William Rezny (shot put).

Purdue (2174 miles)

The Boilermakers have some power in the sprints on the men's side. Cameron Miller is sixth in the NCAA in the 200 (20.29) and teammate Antoine Spencer has run 10.13 in the 200. Those two make Purdue formidable in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays as well. 

Caleb Williams is fifth in the conference in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Bode Gilkerson, Kaden Stewart and Andreas Hantson all have scoring potental in the high jump. Hanston is also a decathlete and finished second in the Big Ten meet last year.

The heptathlon is a big event for the women. Jalen Elrod and Angelina Amefia are ranked second and fourth, respectively, in the conference.

Zoe Sullivan leads the women's team and is sixth in the conference in the 100-meter hurdles. Brittania Johnson is a potential scorer in the discus and hammer.  

Indiana (2222 miles)

The Hoosier feature sprinter Trelee Banks, who ran a wind-aided 10.05 at the Tom Jones Memorial in Florida and also owns a wind-legal 20.47 in the 200 meters. He could score in both events his weekend. 

Sean Mockler moved up to 18th in the NCAA in the hammer recently and Garrett Messer gives the Hoosiers a presence in the decathlon. 

For the women, the top performers are Veronica Hargrave (800), Mariah Wehrle (10,000), Jania Hodges (400 hurdles) and Makayla Hunter (shot put). 

Michigan State (2239 miles)

Freshman Rachel Forsyth has quickly made an impact for the Spartans after an exceptional high school career and is the team's top runner in the 1,500. Katelyn Stewart-Barrett is No. 1 in the conference in the steeplechase and could also score if she chooses a second event. Jessica Stieb could score in the shot put. 

The men won't score much, but have Andrew Nolan in the steeplechase, Brady Schultz in the high jump, brothers Colby and Dillon Morlock in the shot put and Joshua Devries in the hammer. 

Michigan (2288 miles)

Savannah Sutherland is one of the most decorated athletes in the meet. The Canadian Olympian in the 400-meter hurdles is the NCAA leader in the event and was the 2024 NCAA runner-up. She won the national title in 2023. Last summer in Paris she finished seventh in the Olympic Games final. 

The Wolverines also have another potential scorer in the women's 400 hurdles in Sidney Green and those two factor into a strong 4x400 relay lineup as well. The team also has Mary Caroline Heinen in the 10,000 and and some good throwers with Elizabeth Tapper and Abigail Russell in the shot put and Emma Yungberg in the javelin. 

The men's team is led by a young but talented middle distance group that includes Trent McFarland, who won the conference indoor mile title, and Camden Law and Miles Brown in the 800. Caleb Jarema is one of the top steeplechasers in the conference. 

In the field, Tianhao Wei (triple jump) and Eli Winter (hammer) are top performers. 

Ohio State (2377 miles)

The Buckeyes bring some firepower in the sprints and hurdles. Leah Bertrand was third in the indoor conference championships in the 60 meters and has run a wind-aided 10.94 for second-fastest under all conditions in the NCAA this spring. 

Janela Spencer is third in the conference in the women's 100-meter hurdles. 

John Nazzio is the top sprinter in the men's side and Edidiong Udo could be in the hunt in the 400 meters. Braxton Brann is a contender in the 110 hurdles. 

The Buckeyes should also be competitive in both 4x100 relays. 

In field events, Amaya Ugarte (women's high jump), DJ Fillmore (men's long jump), Lacey Stringer (women's shot put/hammer) and Tanner Watson (men's discus) have scoring potential. 

Penn State (2609 miles)

Freshman Ajani Dwyer is one of the top sprinters in the meet and may be able to break up the USC crew in the 100 and 200. He will surely be thinking about the false start in the 60-meter final at the Big Ten Indoor meet. This spring he has run 10.05w and 20.55. 

Handal Roban ran the secod-fastest time in the country in the men's 800 meters at the Florida Relays, where he ran 1:45.16 for No. 1 in Nittany Lions history. He was an Olympian last year for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Nathan Williams and Collin Burkhart could both score in the men's hammer and Dylan Lambrecht should factor in the shot put. Isaac Osifo is third in the conference in the high jump. 

The women have scoring potential with Kileigh Kane and Madaline Ullom in the 1,500 meters, Florence Caron in the 5,000 and 10,000 and Maddie Pitts in the heptathlon. 

Maryland (2701 miles)

The Terapins feature Maya Valmon in the women's 400 meters and she has run 52.50 this season at the Maryland Kehoe Twilight Meet. Eric Albright is a bright spot for the men in the 800 meters and has a season's best of 1:47.32. 

Morgan Graham could be a factor in the women's discus and was fourth at Penn Relays. Chioma Njoku could also do well in the women's hammer as she's 21st nationally. 

Rutgers (2785 miles)

Chloe Timberg won the NCAA pole vault title at Hayward Field last year and is the Scarlet Knights' most prominent entry this weekend. Timberg was fourth at the Big Ten Indoor meet and 10th at NCAA Indoor, but her matchup with the Moll twins of Washington should be a good one. Rutgers also has scoring potential in the men's pole vault, with brothers Brian and Kevin O'Sullivan sharing the school record at 18-1 (5.51m). 

Paige Floriea is 12th in the country in the women's long jump with 21-3.25 (6.48m). More field event points could come in the triple jump, where Donovan Anderson and Faith Bethea should be in the mix, and the women's javelin, with Alianna Eucker.