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QuickTake:
Birnbaum took more than a second off the previous record, set last year.
Simeon Birnbaum, a University of Oregon junior, set a collegiate record in the men’s 1500 meters at the Oregon Invitational Saturday, April 18.
His time, 3 minutes, 31.69 seconds, was nearly a second and a half faster than the previous record, 3:33.02, set by Liam Murphy of Villanova in March 2025.
In nearly perfect conditions at Hayward Field — 70 degrees with no breeze — Birnbaum tucked in behind his teammate, Tomas Palfrey, who paced Birnbaum through the first 1100 meters in 2:38.10. Palfrey then moved to the outside lanes, while Birnbaum scorched his final 400 meters in 53.59 seconds.
He won the race by 7 seconds. Brian Musau of Oklahoma State was second in 3:39.27, and a trio of Ducks finished behind Musau.
Birnbaum, who was seventh at the NCAA outdoor championships in the 1500 meters last year, is off to a fast start for his 2026 outdoor season. Two weeks ago at the Stanford Invitational, he ran 13:19.73 to win the 5,000 meters.
A heralded recruit from Rapid City, South Dakota, Birnbaum, 20, was beset by injury his freshman year at Oregon and missed all but one outdoor meet. (He was most famous at that point for ice skating on a frozen Hayward Field track during the ice storm of 2024.) Last year, healthy again, he set his then-personal best in the 1500, running 3:37.02 in May.
A year later, he has improved by nearly 6 seconds.
