Elliott Payne is ranked fourth in the men's javelin heading into the Big West Championships.
Photo by: Nathan Nybakke (Photography 805)
Cal Poly Track gears up for BWC Championships, Title Defense
5/11/2022 2:45:00 PM | Track and Field
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DAVIS, Calif. — The Mustangs will look to defend their team title on the women's side and bring home plenty of individual accolades when they compete in the Big West Conference Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday at UC Davis.
The women's hammer throw at 9 a.m. Friday kicks off the meet, with the first running events of the day scheduled for 2 p.m.
The BWC Championships officially got underway this past Friday and Saturday with the decathlon and heptathlon — and Cal Poly certainly started the postseason on the right foot.
"That was a great start for us," Acting Track and Field Director Chris Baptista said. "Everybody stepped up and really filled their roles perfectly this last week and our team has been talking about that all week. Having the multi-championships the week before the rest of the events … it gives you an opportunity to set the tone or figure out where you need to pick up the slack a little bit."
In 2021, the Cal Poly women grabbed the team title at the BWC Championships for the first time in program history with 181.5 points, the highest team score at the meet since 2015. The Mustangs won six of the 21 events.
On the men's side, Cal Poly came up just 6 points shy of securing its first BWC crown. The Mustangs led Cal State Fullerton by 1 point entering the final event, but the Titans took first in the 4x400 relay to steal the title from Cal Poly's grasp. The men captured second for the eighth time since joining the conference in 1997.
This year, the women have a chance to go back-to-back and the Mustangs are fully embracing the opportunity to bring another trophy back to San Luis Obispo.
"The women have been talking about that since we did our ring ceremony in the fall," Baptista said. "Everyone likes the bling, right? So, they're excited."
Everything came together perfectly for the women last year, Baptista said. The senior-laden team carried the Mustangs to a place they had never been before. This year, Cal Poly will have to rely more on underclassmen and inexperience to get the job done, but Baptista doesn't anticipate that holding his team back one bit.
"If everyone comes in and does the job they are tasked to do, we should be in a really good situation this year," he said.
Heading into the championships, three Cal Poly athletes own the best mark in the conference in their respective events. Emily Hallett, a redshirt senior, leads the way in the women's hammer with a mark of 200 feet, 11 inches, a school record. Hallett won the Big West title in the event last year, the first in Cal Poly history, and a second one is there for the taking.
"Emily has kind of been leading the way all year," Baptista said. "Each week she's doing some exceptional things."
Melissa Navarro holds the top spot in the women's javelin with the fifth-best mark in school history (155-8) and Mathis Bresko is first in the men's pole vault at 17-2.75, which is currently tied for the 41st best mark in Division I this season. As a freshman, Bresko finished third in the 2021 conference championships.
Ten other Mustangs participating in the meet own second or third best marks in the Big West.
On the women's side, Cassidy Hubert, who finished second in the 400 and ran a leg on the first-place 4x400 relay team at last year's conference championships, ranks second in the 800-meter (2 minutes, 9.49 seconds). Kaila Bishop will be in the 800 as well and is right on Hubert's heels (2:10.52).
Isabella Rigby, a freshman, is second in the women's discus with a 167-11, sixth-best in Cal Poly history. Shelby Daniele, who will take the track in the 200 as well, is slotted third in the 100 with the eighth-best time in school history (11.87) and Annie Hatzenbeler is tied for third in the pole vault with a mark (12-11.5) that is tied for seventh on the Mustangs' all-time list. Daniele captured second in the 200 and third in the 100 last year at the Big West Championships.
Aidan McCarthy ranks second in the men's 1,500 with the sixth-best time in school history (3:44.20) and Christian Valles is tied for second in the pole vault (16-10.75).
McCarthy is entered in the 800 and 5,000, too, and Baptista believes the redshirt freshman could have a great showing in his first conference championship appearance.
"He's a strong runner and he's somebody that we look for that could potentially bring home a [conference] title," Baptista said.
Jake Ritter (28:55.83) and Spencer Thurman (29:13.81) are second and third respectively in the men's 10,000. Both sit in the top-10 of Cal Poly's all-time list and are on the entry list for the 5,000 as well. Corban Payne, who will also compete in the discus and hammer, enters second in the men's shot put (56-3.25) and Xian Shively third in the 5,000 with a 13:58.22, sixth-best in school history, and fourth in the 1,500.
Elliott Payne (men's javelin) and Karina Moreland (women's triple jump) are both ranked fourth in the Big West in their respective events.
The full Big West Conference rankings in each event can be found HERE. Sierra Brill finished second in the 5,000 and 10,000
at last year's Big West Championships.
Sophomore Anisa Rind will attempt to repeat as Big West champ in the women's 400, while Sierra Brill looks to improve upon her pair of runner-up finishes (5,000 and 10,000) in 2021 that earned her a pair of all-conference honors.
Devon Cetti, who secured third in the shot put in 2021, will take part in the men's discus, shot and hammer. In the hammer earlier this season, Cetti tossed the second-best mark in school history (197-0).
Overall, 11 Mustangs who garnered all-conference accolades at last year's Big West Championships will compete for Cal Poly this Friday and Saturday.
The Cal Poly men's team ranks inside the top 30 nationally in six different events heading into this weekend, according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Mustangs are 13th in pole vault, 17th in 400 hurdles, 19th in the 10,000, 23rd in javelin, 25th in shot put and 30th in hammer. The women are ranked 29th nationally in the discus.
Entering Friday, the Cal Poly women's team sits in second in the Big West Championships with 12 points, 4 behind UC Santa Barbara, and the men are tied for second with Cal State Fullerton at 10 points after the Mustangs' stellar showing in the decathlon and heptathlon.
Baptista said this team has dealt with their fair share of adversity this season, from injuries to the tragic passing of legendary coach Mark Conover in April. But throughout it all, the Mustangs have remained resilient and confident, Baptista said, and he expects them to take care of business at Woody Wilson Track.
"When it comes time to perform there's a large group of them that know how to just step up and perform," he said.
You can follow the live results from the conference championships HERE. After the Big West Championships, the postseason will continue for a select few Cal Poly Track and Field athletes with the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on May 25-28 at the University of Arkansas. The field, comprised of the top 48 individual marks and top 24 relay times west of the Mississippi, will be announced a week prior to the start of the meet.
Below is the meet schedule along with the Mustangs competing in each event:
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Sunday, October 12
Cal Poly vs. UC San Diego, Men's Soccer Highlights -- Oct 11th, 2025Cal Poly vs. UC San Diego, Men's Soccer Highlights -- Oct 11th, 2025
Sunday, October 12
Cal Poly vs. UC Santa Barbara, Volleyball Highlights -- Oct 7th, 2025Cal Poly vs. UC Santa Barbara, Volleyball Highlights -- Oct 7th, 2025
Wednesday, October 08
Mustangs Fights Childhood Cancer - Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Video with Cal Poly VolleyballMustangs Fights Childhood Cancer - Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Video with Cal Poly Volleyball
