Oregon Ducks men lead Big Ten track and field meet after Day 1

TL;DR

Oregon Ducks men lead the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships after Day 1, highlighted by Luke Tewalt's victory in the men's 10,000 meters with a time of 29:49.24. The event faced delays due to weather conditions.

Key points

Oregon Ducks men lead Big Ten Championships after Day 1
Luke Tewalt won men's 10,000 meters with 29:49.24
Weather caused nearly two-hour delay for finals
Evan Bishop and Evan Burke also scored points for Oregon
Event held in Lincoln, Nebraska

Mentioned in this story

Lincoln, Nebraska

Oregon DucksBig Ten Outdoor Track & Field ChampionshipsLuke TewaltEvan Bishop

The long weather delay didn't seem to bother Luke Tewalt.

The Oregon newcomer gave the Ducks their first win of the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a first-place finish in the men's 10,000 meters May 15 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Tewalt, a senior transfer from Wake Forest, crossed in 29 minutes, 49.24 seconds to win the final event of the opening day at Nebraska Outdoor Track.

The men's and women's 10,000 finals were pushed back nearly two hours due to inclement weather.

Tewalt wasn't Oregon's only point-scorer in the race. Evan Bishop placed third in 29:50.63 and Evan Burke was fifth in 29:53.43.

Anika Thompson was fourth for the Ducks in the women's 10,000. The senior finished in 33:47.18 in what was her first competition since the NCAA cross country championships.

Defending conference champion Diana Cherotich was with the lead group for much of the race but faded late and didn't finish. Also not finishing was Silan Ayyildiz, the Big Ten's No. 2 runner in the 1,500 who was surprise entry in the 10,000.

Oregon’s Emily Fitzsimmons placed third in the women’s pole vault at the Big Ten outdoor championships.

Notable Oregon performances on Day 1 of the Big Ten outdoor championships

The men's javelin crew had an impressive showing with an 18-point performance. Freshman Daniel Thrana led the way with a second-place finish with a mark of 254 feet, 9 inches. Senior Pat Viala became the No. 4 performer all-time at Oregon with a personal-best toss of 253-11 to finish third. Freshman Vlad Turcu also had a PR with his fifth-place throw of 225-11.
Emily Fitzsimmons tied her Oregon school record with a clearance of 14-8¼ inches to finish third in the women's pole vault final. Fitzsimmons cleared that height on her third attempt, passed when the bar moved up to 14-10¼ and then missed on three attempts at 15-¼. She set the program record April 17 when she cleared 14-8¼ during the Oregon Team Invitational at Hayward Field.
Simeon Birnbaum coasted through his men's 1,500 qualifying heat, winning in 3:54.45 to advance to Sunday's final. Elliott Cook also automatically advanced with a second-place finish in his heat in 3:45.15. Jeffrey Rogers advanced on time with his finish in 3:45.91.