Oregon, Penn State and Washington Win Weekly Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of April 1-8, 2026.  

Co-Track Athletes of the Week  
Simeon Birnbaum, Oregon 
Junior – Distance – Rapid City, S.Dak. – Major: Business Administration 

• Won the invitational section of the 5,000m at the Staford Invitational 
• His time of 13:19.73 leads the NCAA and is the No. 6 time in Oregon history 
• This time also bests his previous PR by more than 12 seconds 
• Marks Oregon’s first Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week award 

Ajani Dwyer, Penn State 
Sophomore – Sprints – Sewell, N.J. – Major: Accounting 

• Won the Florida Relays 100m with a record-breaking time of 10.06 
• His time was a program record, beating Cheickna Traore by 0.09 seconds 
• Dwyer’s second consecutive Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week award this season 

Field Athlete of the Week 
James Rhoads, Washington 
Senior – Pole Vault – Pleasantville, Ohio – Major: M.S. Information Management 

• Won the Texas Relays pole vault title with a clearance of 5.75m (18-10 ¼)  
• His mark was a Washington school record and is No. 2 in the NCAA this season 
• Rhoads owns both the Washinton indoor and outdoor school records 
• Last Washington Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week award: Scott Toney (April 2, 2025) 

Freshman of the Week 
Ben Smith, Oregon 
RS Freshman – Throws – Fremont, Wis. – Major: Undecided 

• Won the elite section of the shot put at the Triton Invitational  
• His mark of 20.02m (64-8 ¼) is second in the Big Ten and third in the NCAA 
• Smith is the sixth man in program history to throw 20m outdoors 
• Last Oregon Outdoor Freshman of the Week Award: Kobe Lawrence (May 7, 2025) 

2026 Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week 

March 25 
Track: Prior Ochonogor, IOWA 
Field: Emmanuel Njoku, IOWA/Brian O’Sullivan, RU 
Freshman: John Caleb, MINN 

April 1 
Track: Ajani Dwyer, PSU 
Field: Racquil Broderick, USC 
Freshman: Hencu Lamberts, NEB 

April 8 
Track: Simeon Birnbaum, ORE/Ajani Dwyer, PSU 
Field: James Rhoads, WASH 
Freshman: Ben Smith, ORE