Ducks’ Erickson takes 2nd in 800; Texas A&M, USC share men’s NCAA title

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Oregon senior Matthew Erickson repeated the same line he gave Wednesday after finishing fourth in his 800-meter semifinal heat at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field.

“I hate losing.”

But there was no denying that grin on Erickson’s face as he spoke after finishing second in 1:46.32 in the 800 final on “championship Friday” to put eight points on the board for the Oregon men. It was the best performance on a day when the Ducks, who were never really a threat to win the team title this year, struggled to score.

“It was a really meaningful race for me,” said Erickson, the NCAA indoor 800 champion earlier this year, who was running in what was his final outdoor race as a Duck.

“It was really awesome being out there and representing the UO, representing Canada, representing my family,” the runner from British Columbia said.

Erickson was in seventh coming around the final turn, right on the rail, but a gap opened and he shot through it, slicing his way into third as he swung to the outside and was able to catch Arkansas’s Rivaldo Marshall in the final sprint to the line.

“It was about making decisions on the fly,” Erickson said. “In a moment, I knew that if something opened up like that, I just had to use my energy in those moments to make the right decisions.”

Texas A&M’s Sam Whitmarsh — who came into the meet with the NCAA’s second-fastest outdoor time this year in 1:44.46 — won the 800 in 1:45.86, after finishing second last year for the Aggies in Eugene, and Erickson gave him a big hug after the race.

“Sam’s a freaking awesome athlete and an even better person,” Erickson said. “I love racing against him, so after the race, I gave him a big hug. It’s his first national title, and he’s been waiting for it for a while, so I’m sure that’s going to feel really good for him.”

The Oregon men finished with 19 points, tied for 11^th overall.

The Aggies, with a second-place finish in the final event of the day, the 4×400 relay, came from behind to tie the University of Southern California — also the 2025 indoor champs — for the team trophy, both schools scoring 41 points.

Arkansas, which finished in third with 40 points, filed a protest after the relay, won by South Florida, alleging a Razorback was hindered by a USF runner, but it was denied, according to Portland’s KGW-TV. If successful, it would have disqualified South Florida and given the relay win to Texas A&M, and thus an outright title, while the Trojans would have had to settle for a second-place tie with Arkansas.

It was USC’s 27^th title, the most in NCAA history, but the Trojans’ first since 1976.

Arkansas was second with 40, followed by Auburn, 35, New Mexico, 31 and Oklahoma, 30.5.

Oregon freshman Koitakoi Kidali, who had that thrilling second-place finish in his 800 semifinal heat on Wednesday but fell and injured his shoulder when he got tangled with another runner, finished last in the final, ninth, in 1:52.10.

He was also running on a bad right knee, Kidali said after the race.

“I feel so terrible, because I injured my shoulder,” said the 2024 Olympian from Kenya who ran a blistering 1:42.66 last year in his nation’s olympic trials, his right shoulder taped. People told him he didn’t have to run, but he said he didn’t want to let down the Ducks.

Oregon’s sensational sophomore, Simeon Birnbaum, finished a disappointing seventh in the 1,500 final, in a time of 3:47.64, in a race many thought he had a chance to win.

“I went out there and gave it my best. It just didn’t work out for me today,” said Birnbaum, who found himself leading a slow race for the first three laps.

“I wanted to be towards the front,” he said. “I didn’t necessarily want to be leading. I was really hoping someone else would take it. I didn’t want to be like a pacemaker out there.”

Birnbaum found himself stuck behind Big Ten Champion Adam Spencer, of Wisconsin, and Washington’s Nathan Green, with 300 meters to go.

“In most races, they move out in the home stretch, but it just never really opened up,” he said. “It’s a nightmare being back there, just seeing the winners run away from you, it just sucks.”

Green took his first 1,500 title in 3:47.26 with a fast last lap of 51.5 seconds and a fierce kick down the stretch in a wild finish before somersaulting after crossing the line.

Spencer finished fourth in 3:47.50, collapsing to the ground.

A couple of other Ducks who weren’t upset with seventh-place finishes Friday were triple jumper Safin Wills, with a hop, skip and jump of 52 feet, 8.75 inches; and Benjamin Balazs, who ran a personal best of 8:24.46 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

“It felt super-good,” Balazs said. “My plan was just to run in the back and claw my way to eighth place. That was the goal, just one point, just get a little trophy, you know.”

But Balazs was able to stay strong and pass several runners in the final 200 meters as he flew over the water pit barrier, surprising even himself.

“Huge win,” he said. “Like I said, I thought eighth place might have been almost impossible and ended up seventh. Everyone ahead of me was like an Olympian, an 8:13 guy, these are legit runners, probably future pros.”

U.S. Olympian James Corrigan, of BYU, took first in the steeplechase in 8:16.41.

Oregon’s Aidan Elbettar competed in Friday’s discus final but finished out of the points, in 18^th place, with a throw of 185 feet, 4 inches.

The first day of the women’s heptathlon got underway Friday, with Oregon’s Annika Williams in fifth place after the first four events with 3,545 points.

Top men’s team scores:

Texas A&M, 41; USC, 41; Arkansas, 40; Auburn, 35; New Mexico, 31; Oklahoma, 30.5; Minnesota, 25; Florida, 22; Kentucky, 22; Ole Miss, 22; Oregon, 19; Oklahoma State, 19; BYU, 19; South Florida, 18; Tennessee, 18; Kansas, 16.5; North Carolina, 16; Texas Tech, 16; Wisconsin, 15; Houston, 15; Baylor, 14; Texas State, 14; Virginia Tech, 13; Alabama, 13; South Carolina, 13; Mississippi State, 13; Louisville, 13; LSU, 11.33; Iowa, 11; Iowa State, 10; Kansas State, 10; Washington, 10; Miami (Fla.), 10.

Individual champions crowned Friday:

• Discus: Ralford Mullings, Oklahoma, 227 feet, 4 inches
• High jump: Arvesta Troupe, Ole Miss, 7 feet, 5 ¼ inches
• Wheelchair 100: Evan Correll, 14.46 seconds
• 4×100 relay: Auburn, 38.33
• Triple jump: Brandon Green Jr., Oklahoma, 55 feet, 2 inches
• 1,500: Nathan Green, Washington, 3:47.26
• 3,000 steeplechase: James Corrigan, BYU, 8:16.41
• 110 hurdles: Ja’Kobe Tharp, Auburn, 13.05.
• 100: Jordan Anthony, Arkansas, 10.07
• 400: Samuel Ogazi, Alabama, 44.84
• 800: Sam Whitmarsh, Texas A&M, 1:45.86
• 400 hurdles: Nathaniel Ezekial, Baylor, 47.49C
• 200: Carli Makarawu, Kentucky, 19.84
• 5,000: Brian Musau, Oklahoma State, 13:20.59
• 4×400 relay: South Florida, 3:00.42

The final day of competition starts Saturday with the women’s discus final at 12:30 p.m.

The Oregon women will have five athletes competing Saturday:

• Ryann Porter, triple jump, 6:10 p.m.
• Silan Ayyildiz, Mia Barnett, Klauida Kazimierska, 1500, 6:11 p.m.
• Aaliyah McCormick, 100 hurdles, 6:42 p.m.