Simeon Birnbaum, a University of Oregon junior, set a collegiate record in the men’s 1500 meters at the Oregon Invitational Saturday, April 18.
His time, 3 minutes, 31.69 seconds, was nearly a second and a half faster than the previous record, 3:33.02, set by Liam Murphy of Villanova in March 2025.
In nearly perfect conditions at Hayward Field — 70 degrees with no breeze — Birnbaum tucked in behind his teammate, Tomas Palfrey, who paced Birnbaum through the first 1100 meters in 2:38.10. Palfrey then moved to the outside lanes, while Birnbaum scorched his final 400 meters in 53.59 seconds…