Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Nov 6, 20223 min
Earlier today, South Dakota native and high school superstar, Simeon Birnbaum, announced via Instagram that he will be attending the University of Oregon next fall.
In September, he was listed as our TSR #6 recruit.
According to a now-expired Instagram story in which Birnbaum asked his followers to predict where he would commit to, the distance ace listed Tennessee and Northern Arizona (as well as Oregon) among his possible landing spots.
Birnbaum made national headlines this past spring as he became the first 16-year-old in United States history to break the four-minute miler barrier, running a time of 3:59.51 at the Brooks PR Invitational.
That time allowed the South Dakota native to become the 17th high schooler to ever break the four-minute mile barrier and the third high school junior to ever achieve that goal.
Prior to that race, Birnbaum's personal best in the mile was 4:07.
Of course, the Rapid City Stevens High School senior is so much more than just an elite miler. Birnbaum has also run 1:51 for 800 meters, 8:55 for 3200 meters and 14:47 for 5000 meters on the grass.
However, maybe more impressively, Birnbaum has not lost a single race since this past March. In his 16 races since the indoor track season, the Oregon commit has remained undefeated despite toeing the line for national-caliber meets like the Brooks PR Invitational, Arcadia Invitational, Nike Heartland Preview and more.
Of course, Birnbaum isn't the only megastar high school talent to commit to the Ducks so far this year. The South Dakota native is joining fellow sub-four high school miler, Connor Burns, as well as Daniel Watcke, one of the most versatile prep talents in the nation right now.
The recent introduction of Bowerman Track Club coach, Jerry Schumacher, as Oregon's newest Director of Track & Field and Cross Country this past summer, has led to a boom in elite-tier distance recruits on the men's and women's sides.
Alongside Watcke and Burns, the addition of Simeon Birnbaum gives Oregon one of the most top-heavy distance-based recruiting classes (domestically) in recent history. The addition of two sub-four milers and a 1:50 half-miler (who can also run sub-15:00 over 5000 meters), gives the Ducks one of the scariest groups of young talent going into next fall.
And maybe more importantly, this recruiting trio of Birnbaum, Burns and Watcke all perfectly mesh with the current and future identity of the Ducks' roster.
The Oregon men have thrived in the middle distances as of late, a reputation established by former distance coach Ben Thomas. However, there is also a clear need for greater cross country scoring, especially with veteran Aaron Bienenfeld soon on his way out.
That, of course, is something that Schumacher is addressing with this year's recruiting class.
Birnbaum and Burns are primarily milers and Watcke has built his reputation in the 800 meters. However, all three of those men have proven that they can also be nationally competitive names on the grass.
It should also be noted that Devan Kipyego, a four-flat miler with 1:49 (800) speed and 14:57 (5k XC) endurance, is expected to make his college commitment on November 9th. The Oregon Ducks are among the five schools in contention to land the Rhode Island ace.
The Ducks have also been the recipients of two top-five women's recruits (as ranked by TSR) in Lily Cridge and Kate Peters, as well as Katie Clute (another ranked recruit) and Ella Thorsett.
With Birnbaum now off the table, the Northern Arizona men will be looking forward to potential verbal commitments from California distance stars Chris Caudillo (TSR #10 recruit) and Aaron Sahlman (TSR #4 recruit).
Both men are expected to announce their commitments on November 9th.