Big Ten Reveals Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship Awards

Rosemont, ILL. – The Big Ten Conference announced the 2026 Big Ten Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship award winners on Wednesday, as selected by the Conference’s head coaches. The championship meet was held last weekend at the Fall Creek Pavilion in Indianapolis, Ind. 

Oregon’s Simeon Birnbaum earned Men’s Track Athlete of the Championships accolades, while Iowa’s Ryan Johnson was selected as Field Athlete of the Championships and Ducks’ head coach Jerry Schumacher was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. 

Birnbaum, a sophomore, played an integral part in Oregon’s team title. He won the 3,000m with a time of 7:59.87 and the 5,000m with a time of 13:45.78. Birnbaum adds another accolade to his resume as he won Outdoor Track Athlete of the Championships last year.  

Iowa’s Ryan Johnson won weight throw while setting a new collegiate, meet and facility record with a mark of 25.66m. The previous Big Ten record of 25.58m was set by Wisconsin’s Michael Lihrman in 2015. 

Schumacher claimed his second indoor Coach of the Year honors after leading Oregon to its second Big Ten Indoor Men’s championship. Schumacher has won four out of five of the championships between Cross Country, Indoor, and Outdoor Track and Field since the Ducks joined the Conference in 2024.  

The Big Ten Conference office recognizes one student-athlete from each team as Sportsmanship Award Honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. Honorees are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the academic year. 

The Big Ten will announce Track Athlete of the Year, Field Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year following the conclusion of the NCAA Championships, which are scheduled for March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 

Men’s Indoor Track & Field Honorees 
Track Athlete of the Championships 
Simeon Birnbaum, ORE 

Field Athlete of the Championships 
Ryan Johnson, Iowa 

Coach of the Year 
Jerry Schumacher, Oregon 

Men’s Indoor Track & Field Sportsmanship Honorees 
Tadeas Placek, Illinois 
Nikos Sidirenos, Indiana 
Vaugh Devaugh III, Iowa 
Miles Brown, Michigan 
Logan Allen, Michigan State 
Noa Isaia, Nebraska 
Edidiong Udo, Ohio State 
Aiden Carter, Oregon 
Niko Schultz, Penn State 
Seamus Malaski, Purdue 
Donavan Anderson, Rutgers 
Chris Paige, UCLA 
Garrett Kaalund, USC 
Reuben Reina, Washington 
Zion Ometesa, Wisconsin