Mustangs Impress on Day 1 of UW Invitational

Friday, January 27

Seattle, WA / Dempsey Indoor

All Day

UW Invitational

Photo by: Jamie Mitchell

Mustangs Impress on Day 1 of UW Invitational

1/27/2023 7:45:00 PM | Track and Field

SEATTLE, Wash. — Several Mustang sprinters and distance runners showed out as Cal Poly made history on the opening day of the UW Invitational on Friday at Dempsey Indoor.

16 athletes participated for Mustang track and field on Friday, including eight men, marking the first time in Division I school history that men have competed for Cal Poly indoors. That means all the top marks turned in by the Mustang men at this meet will be Division I indoor school records.

Although men's indoor track and field is not an official NCAA sport at Cal Poly, the Mustang men can still compete in a handful of indoor meets. However, they are not eligible for any postseason competition.

Speaking of history, Amanda Olla made some of her own Friday becoming the first Cal Poly woman to run the 5,000-meter indoors. She finished seventh with a time of 16:42.63, establishing a school record in the event in her first collegiate track meet.

Juniors Anthony Guerra and Colton Swinth competed in the men's 5,000-meter. Guerra posted a lifetime best 5,000-meter time (14:20.42) to secure seventh, while Swinth took home 23rd (14:43.48) out of 33 runners.

Shelby Daniele continued her impressive start to the season, running a personal-best indoor time of 24.93 seconds in the women's 200-meter, moving her up to No. 3 on Cal Poly's all-time list. The nearly 40-second PR allowed her to place fourth in the event.

Five other Mustangs raced in the women's 200. Jadyn Snaer, the school record holder in the 60-meter, led the way grabbing ninth with an indoor PR of 25.48 seconds. Anisa Rind (13th, 25.87), Aspin Oliver (21st, 26.23), Katelyn Carro (23rd, 26.29) and Melissa Navarro (37th, 27.31) also competed.

In the prelims of the women's 60-meter hurdles, Oliver (pictured above) moved to No. 6 on Cal Poly's all-time list with a time of 8.92 seconds, improving upon her previous personal best by .05 seconds. In the finals, the sophomore ran a time of 9.13 to place seventh.

In the men's 200-meter, five Mustangs made their indoor debuts. Tyler Esteves crossed the finish line in fourth (22.13), Chris Davis earned sixth (22.31), Joey Souto was 10th with a lifetime best of 22.40 and Wesley Salzman took 11th (22.45). Chase Walter, who spent the last two years on the Cal Poly baseball team, placed 12th in the 200 (22.50) in his first collegiate track meet.

Nick Gammal, who placed seventh in the decathlon at last year's Big West Championships, posted a time of 9.32 in the men's 60-meter hurdles to capture ninth.

Sophomore Anna Grexton, No. 5 on Cal Poly's top marks list, competed in the women's weight throw for the second straight week, grabbing 12th (44 feet, 2 inches).

Action from the UW Invitational resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday.