EUGENE, Ore. — Rapid City Stevens graduate Simeon Birnbaum has been named the 2025 Big Ten Track Athlete of the Championships, as released Wednesday by the conference office. League awards are selected by the Big Ten head coaches.

The Oregon men recently won the 2025 Big Ten Outdoor team title to complete the indoor-outdoor double in their first year in the league. The Ducks scored 110 points, scoring in 13 of 21 events and winning a pair of individual titles with Birnbaum at 5,000 meters and Benjamin Balazs in the steeplechase. Oregon out-distanced the men's field by 29 points.

Birnbaum accounted for 16 points at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with his win in the 5,000 and a third-place finish at 1,500 meters. In the former, he stopped the clock in 13:31.87 for a new meet record; the previous mark of 13:41.06 was run by Wisconsin's Mohammed Ahmed in 2012. With this time in the 5,000, Birnbaum moved into the top 20 of the West region rankings.

Birnbaum also carries a season's best of 3:37.02 in the 1,500 meters.

The postseason continues with the NCAA West First Round (May 28-31) in Bryan-College Station, Texas. The top 48 declared individuals and top 24 relays will compete at the regional meet for the top-12 spots to advance to the NCAA Championships (June 11-14) in Eugene.