On Day 2 of the Big Ten Championships for track and field in Nebraska, Oregon saw two athletes finish first in their qualification heats, and one win his event.

In the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, junior Benjamin Balazs finished in 8:49.02 to claim his second-consecutive Big Ten outdoor title.

The women’s 100-meter hurdles first round featured three Oregon athletes, two of whom finished in the top three and qualified for the next round. Sophomore Annaleise Taylor came in 13th in 13.94. Senior Micaela De Mello finished third in 13.02. In first place was senior Aaliyah McCormick, who finished in 12.87.

The men’s 110-meter hurdles first round also saw a Duck finish first. Junior Kai Graves-Blanks was the only Oregon representative in the event and took the top overall qualifying slot in 13.49.

In the women’s heptathlon, freshman Liisa-Maria Lusti came in second with 5917 points. She scored second place in the long jump, where she jumped 6.06m. Lusti was second again in the javelin, where she threw for 41.05m on her second attempt. Lusti finished fifth in the 800-meter in 2:23.32.

Lusti was one of three Oregon athletes to appear in the women’s long jump. Sophomore Sharifa Davronova came in 21st with a 5.84m jump. Sophomore Cassandra Atkins got 13th place with a 6.02m jump. Lusti came in ninth, jumping 6.16m to qualify for the finals.

In the women’s 400-meter first round, junior Lakely Doht-Barron represented the Ducks, finishing ninth in 52.69 and just out of the time qualification slots.

The women’s 100-meter first round featured three Ducks in the top-15. Junior Brazil Neal finished 14th in 11.57. Sophomore Amirah Shaheed qualified in ninth in 11.46. Just a step ahead of her was senior Lily Jones, who qualified in seventh place in 11.45.

In the men’s 100-meter first round, two Oregon athletes made an appearance. Near the bottom, sophomore Jaelon Barbarin finished 31st in 10.76. On the flip side, junior PJ Ize-Iyamu qualified in second place in 10.07.

In the men’s long jump, freshman Titouan Bizet represented the Ducks, coming in eighth with a 7.48m jump. This beat his prior attempt of 7.18m, but he was unable to top it in his final attempt, where he jumped 7.20m.

In the men’s discus throw, freshman Ben Smith claimed third place with a 58.63m throw on his first try. He was unable to top that on his next two attempts, throwing for 57.79m and 55.74m.

The women’s 800m contained four athletes from Oregon, and one who finished in the top-10. Sophomore Nicole Humphries finished 28th in 2:10.56. Junior Bahiya El Arfaoui came in 25th in 2:08.52. Freshman Ali Ince finished 19th in 2:06.42. Then, in eighth place was senior Wilma Nielsen, who finished in 2:03.30 and qualified.

The final day of Big Ten Championships will begin tomorrow at 8:10 a.m. with the women’s triple jump.