On June 10, 2026, over 1000 athletes traveled to Eugene to kick off Day 1 of the 2026 NCAA Track and Field National Championships at Hayward Field. 

Day 1 of the meet featured the men’s schedule, starting off with preliminary heats of the men’s 4×100 relay at 5:05 p.m. Six men champions were crowned, with finals in the 10,000-meter, pole vault, javelin and hammer.

One of the six was Oregon’s Ben Smith. The Big Ten Champion, who held the nation-leading mark of 20.88m going into the championship, made his NCAA Outdoor Championships debut Wednesday. With a 21.04m throw, the freshman’s performance earned him the title of a national champion and secured Oregon’s first shot put title in 44 years.

Shot put

Smith, a redshirt-freshman, became the first Oregon man to win an NCAA shot put title since Dean Crouser in 1982. Smith entered the tournament as the NCAA leader and now is the first Oregon freshman to win the men’s shot put title. His winning 21.04m throw came three rounds in. 

Kobe Lawrence, who finished fourth at nationals last year, returned to Hayward Field to throw 19.87m and finish fourth for the second consecutive season.

Men’s 4×100-meter relay

Oregon’s 4×100-meter relay team consisted of Kai Graves-Blanks, PJ Ize-Iyamu, Grant Valley and Jaelon Barbarin. Kicking off the Ducks’ day, Oregon finished fourth in its heat with a time of 38.54, clinching a time qualification to continue their journey in the finals on Friday.

Men’s 1500-meter

Oregon athletes Simeon Birnbaum, Elliott Cook and Tomas Palfrey all competed in today’s preliminary round of the men’s 1500-meter. 

Birnbaum finished second in heat one with a time of 3:38.87 while Palfrey finished fifth with a time of 3:39.56 to both finish top five and qualify for the finals. In the second heat, Cook had a personal-best, securing a lane for Friday with a time of 3:36.77.

Men’s 3000-meter steeplechase

Familiar in this event, Oregon athlete Benjamin Balazs finished seventh in last season’s championship race with an 8.24.46.

Today, he finished second in his semifinal heat with a time of 8:24.68. Balazs’ time served as an automatic qualifying time, advancing to the 3000-meter steeplechase finals on Day 3.

Men’s Javelin 

Oregon field athletes Daniel Thrana and Pat Vialva both competed in Wednesday’s men’s javelin final. Vialva placed seventh overall with a top throw of 75.04m. Right behind him in eighth was Thrana, who hit a mark of 74.90m.

Men’s 110-meter hurdles

Oregon athlete Kai Graves-Blanks, who was the 2025 Big Ten Championships runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles for Iowa, made his second appearance of the day in the 110-meter hurdles but fell short of qualifying for the final round, running a 13.57.

Notably, Auburn hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp set a new world record in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, running 12.75 seconds during the semifinal heat. At the center of Hayward Field, Tharp became the first athlete to break a world record at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 50 years.

Men’s 10,000-meters

Finishing off Day 1, Oregon’s Evan Burke competed in the longest distance event of the day: the 10,000-meter relay. Burke finished 23rd with a time of 29:14.90.

After a long day of competition from both field and track events, Oregon sits in second place with 18 points. Trailing Nebraska by ten points, the Ducks will look to the finals on Friday to close the gap.

Day 2 of the meet will feature the women’s schedule and the end of the decathlon.