From left: Chris Davis, Chase Walter, Joey Souto and Wesley Salzman led the Cal Poly men's 4x400-meter relay to a first-place finish at the UW Invitational on Saturday.
Nwagwu Breaks School Record, Men Win 4x400 on Historic Final Day at UW Invite
1/28/2023 5:44:00 PM | Track and Field
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SEATTLE, Wash. — Melody Nwagwu soared past the school record in the women's long jump, Aidan McCarthy nearly broke the four-minute mark in the mile and countless milestones and personal bests were achieved as Cal Poly track and field wrapped up competition at the UW Invitational on Saturday inside Dempsey Indoor.
The over 30 Mustangs that took part in the final day of the meet put on quite the show, and none more so than Nwagwu. On her final attempt, Nwagwu leaped 19 feet, 3.5 inches in the women's long jump, surpassing the previous indoor school record of 19-1 set by Janet Yarbrough in 1982. The mark was a lifetime best (indoor or outdoor) for Nwagwu and allowed her to capture third in the event. Melody Nwagwu broke the school record in the women's indoor long jump Saturday.
In the women's 60-meter dash, Jadyn Snaer continued to tear up the track, matching her school record time of 7.50 seconds in the finals to place third. Shelby Daniele, No. 2 all-time at Cal Poly in the 60, shaved .03 seconds off her personal best in prelims and went on to finish seventh in finals.
Sydnie Rivas entered the top marks list in the women's 3,000-meter, moving to No. 5 all-time with a 9:41.67 (31st). Rachel Victor, a grad transfer from Sacramento State, also ran a PR in the event (9:48.68).
Freshman Lexi Evans moved to No. 4 all-time in the women's indoor pole vault with a mark of 12 feet, 11.5 inches to take home 11th. She improved upon her previous collegiate best by 2 inches. Annie Hatzenbeler was right behind her in 12th, clearing a personal best indoor mark of 12 feet, 5.5 inches.
On a weekend where the Cal Poly men competed indoors for the first time in Division I program history, McCarthy may have had the most impressive performance. The defending Big West champion in the 800-meter nearly ran a sub four-minute mile, posting a 4:00.16 in the event to earn ninth and win his heat. It's the fastest mile time indoors or outdoors by a Mustang in Division I program history.
Because this is the first indoor meet ever for the Cal Poly men, every top mark turned in by the Mustangs at the UW Invitational was a Division I school record for indoors. Men's indoor track and field is not an official NCAA sport at Cal Poly, but the Mustang men are still able to compete in a few indoor meets without being eligible for any postseason competition.
The Mustang men had a stellar showing in the 4x400-meter relay as Joey Souto, Chase Walter, Wesley Salzman and Chris Davis led Cal Poly to a first-place finish with a time of 3:12.92, a mark that is better than any time Cal Poly posted in the 4x400 during last year's outdoor season.
In the pole vault, Mathis Bresko, the 2022 Big West men's pole vault champion, cleared a mark of 16 feet, 8 inches to take home second. Zack Volpe earned fourth (15-2.25) and Nick Gammal (13-10.5) was eighth.
After a historic meet for the program, the Mustangs will take a week off before returning to action on Feb. 10-11 for two meets — the Husky Classic in Seattle and Don Kirby Elite Invitational in New Mexico.
