Bowerman Track Club, Brooks Beasts, Oregon, and Oklahoma State athletes ready to race at Hayward Field

EUGENE, Ore. - Special moments are made seemingly every time all-star 1500m fields assemble at Hayward Field and Saturday’s women’s 1500m contest at the Oregon Relays presented by AthleticNET should be no exception.

A deep and talented field is ready to race, with the Bowerman Track Club trio of Karissa Schweizer, Christina Aragon, Kaylee Mitchell, along with the All-American Oklahoma State duo of Billah Jepkirui and Gabija Galvydyte, sure to set a fast early pace.

Schweizer is coming off a strong start to her 2024 outdoor campaign having run 31:04.80 at The TEN. The veteran will test her speed as she looks to regain her form of 2022, when she won the U.S. 10,000m title and placed ninth at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene

Aragon and new Bowerman Track Club teammate Kaylee Mitchell join Schweizer on the start line seeking to get their outdoor season off on a good foot. Aragon ran 4:12.36 for 1500m indoor, not far off her 1500m personal best of 4:08.71. Mitchell, who was a multi-time All-American while competing for Oregon State and most recently placed tenth in the 3000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships seeks to improve upon her 1500m personal best of 4:13.48 set last year.

Oklahoma State’s Jepkirui and Galvydyte are arguably the top two athletes in the field based on recent performances. Jepkirui is the NCAA Indoor Championships runner-up in the mile, while also having run 4:08.93 last week at the Bryan Clay Invitational. 

Galvydyte placed fifth in the 800m at the NCAA Indoor Championships and ran a 4:10.53 1500m effort at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Jepkirui’s mark ranks her fifth on the current NCAA performance lists, while Galvydyte’s mark puts her eighth.

Jenn Randall of the Oregon Track Club will look to come out on top a year after placing first in the women’s mile at the Oregon Relays. Randall ran 4:11.49 to place third in the 1500m at The TEN earlier this season and just last week ran 15:27.06 for 5000m at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

 

 

 

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A trio of Brooks Beasts athletes are poised to challenge for top finishes. Allie Buchalski and Julia Heymach enter with the best PRs in the field with 4:05.53 and 4:04.84 efforts to their names. Buchalski placed fifth in the 3000m at the USATF Indoor Championships earlier this season and ran 15:03.00 for 5000m indoors, as well. The duo is joined by Kayley Delay, who ran 15:05.96 for 5000m indoors and has a 1500m best of 4:11.20 from last year.

The Oregon Ducks have three athletes entered for Saturday’s race, with Maddy Elmore, Silan Ayylidiz, and Mia Barnett all seeking to dip under 4:10 in the 1500m contest. Elmore currently ranks top ten on the NCAA performance list after running 4:09.36 at the Bryan Clay Invitational last weekend.

Both Elmore and Ayylidiz ran extremely well in the 5000m at the Stanford Invitational earlier this season, with Elmore running 15:15.79 and Ayylidiz running 15:15.84, marks that currently have them ranked second and third in the NCAA. Barnett has a 4:08.44 personal best and ran 4:20.33 at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

The women’s 1500m field is part of the Oregon Relays Pro Challenge, which includes the men’s 800m, men’s mile, men’s DMR, women’s 800m, and women’s 1500m. with more than $5,000 being awarded per event.

Tickets for both Friday and Saturday are now available for purchase at the University of Oregon Ticketmaster website. 

For those not able to watch from the Hayward Field stands, RunnerSpace will be streaming the Oregon Relays live both days with a +PLUS subscription and live results and field event videos can be tracked via AthleticLIVE.

For news, schedule, pre-meet coverage, and other updates, visit www.oregonrelays.com.

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