NCAA West Preliminaries
McCarthy Misses Out on NCAA Finals Berth by .08 Seconds
5/27/2022 6:06:00 PM | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Cal Poly's Aidan McCarthy continued tearing up the school record book in the men's 800-meter at the NCAA West Preliminaries on Friday at the University of Arkansas.
In the quarterfinals of the 800, McCarthy ran a blistering time of 1 minute, 48 seconds, the second fastest time in school history. The mark shattered his previous personal best (1:49.22) by over a second.
McCarthy finished 15th overall and fourth in heat No. 3. The top three finishers in each heat and the next three fastest times across the three heats secured a spot in the NCAA National Championships in Eugene, Oregon on June 8-11. Oregon's Luis Peralta edged out McCarthy by 0.08 seconds to grab the last automatic qualifier spot in heat No. 3. McCarthy missed out on securing a berth to the NCAA Finals based on time by 0.21 seconds.
McCarthy punched a ticket to the quarterfinals at the West Regional by placing 23rd overall in the first round of the 800 on Wednesday.
The performance Friday put a bow on the season for the Mustangs and capped off a remarkable year on the track for McCarthy. The redshirt freshman won the Big West Conference title on May 14 and each time he ran the 800 this season, he recorded a new personal best.
McCarthy jumped ahead of Vernon Sallaz (1981) and Luis Rodriguez (1960) on the all-time list. Now only Mathyas Michael (1:47.44, 1970) stands between McCarthy and the school record in the men's 800.
Players Mentioned
