SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Cal Poly women’s cross country team defeated UCSB in a close battle while the Cal Poly men’s team lost to the Gauchos Saturday at the UCSB Lagoon Open held on the UC Santa Barbara campus. The women’s team defeated UCSB 27-30 led by sophomore Kayleigh Tyerman’s first place finish, covering the five kilometer course in a time of 17:07. Last season’s Big West Freshman of the Year finished nine seconds...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.– The Cal Poly men’s cross country team were a unanimous selection as the top club, collecting the maximum 64 points in this year’s preseason Big West Coaches Poll. Behind them is UC Davis with 52 points, with UC Santa Barbara rounding out the top three with 42 points. The Cal Poly women’s team was selected to finish third with 66 points behind UCSB with 78 points and six first place votes and...

SAN LUIS OBISPO– First-year Cal Poly track and field director MarkConover completed his staff for the 2010-11 season as the Cal Poly Athletics Department announced that former University of Washington assistant coach Kelly Strong has joined the Mustang program in a similar capacity. Strong arrives on the central coast following a nine-year stint with the University of Washington, where she helped form one of the nation’s elite distance programs, accentuated by the women winning the 2008...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Cal Poly senior Joe Gatel finished in 110th at the NCAA’s Division I Cross Country Championships, hosted by Indiana State on Monday. Gatel covered the 10-kilometer race in a time of 31:03. Liberty’s Samuel Chelanga won the individual championship in a record setting time of 28:41. Oklahoma State won the team title by placing all five scoring runners in the top-77 As a junior Gatel helped Cal Poly to a 23rd place finish...

SPRINGFIELD, OR. – Senior Joe Gatel led Cal Poly to a fifth-place finish at the West Regional hosted by the University of Oregon on Saturday. The senior was 15th in a field of 182 runners, clocking a time of 31 minutes, 9.25 seconds over the 10,000-meter course held at the Springfield Country Club. The Mustangs finished with Arizona State in a tie with 155 points. Stanford won with 27 points and was trailed by Portland...

IRVINE, CALIF. – Cal Poly was the recipient of the most 2009 Big West Cross Country awards as the Mustangs claimed three of the six major honors. The Cal Poly men’s team claimed two of those accolades as Joe Gatel was named the Men’s Athlete of the Year, while head coach Mark Conover was once again bestowed the honor of Men’s Coach of the Year. The Mustangs’ remaining award was on the women’s side as Kayleigh...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Cal Poly men’s cross country team won its seventh-straight and 10th overall Big West Conference Cross Country Championship held at the UC Riverside Farm Course on Saturday. The Mustangs won the title with all five scoring runners finishing in the top 10. The Cal Poly women’s team finished third in a hotly contested women’s race won by UCSB with 50 points, followed by UC Davis with 61 and Cal Poly with...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly head cross country coach Mark Conover will lead the Mustang teams into the Big West Conference Championships on Saturday hosted by UC Riverside. Conover will be looking to lead the men’s team to its seventh-straight and 10th conference championship overall while the women’s team will be looking for its third championship. The men’s team making the run in Riverside will include the squad who ran at the Pre-Nationals...