NCAA West Preliminaries
Eight Mustangs Secure Berths to the NCAA West Preliminaries
5/18/2023 12:30:00 PM | Track and Field
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Eight Cal Poly track and field athletes have secured a berth to the NCAA West Preliminaries with the NCAA announcing the full field Thursday. Mathis Bresko, Rory Devaney, Lexi Evans, Anthony Guerra, Aidan McCarthy, Spencer Pickren, Xian Shively and Rachel Victor will all compete for the Mustangs at the regional meet held May 24-27 at Sacramento State.
The field is comprised of the top 48 individual marks and top 24 relay times in the West Region. Qualifiers that finish in the top 12 in each event at the West Regional, along with the top 12 from the East Regional, will advance to the NCAA Championships at the University of Texas on June 7-10.
Six of the Mustangs that qualified will be making their first appearance at regionals.
The NCAA West Preliminaries will be livestreamed on ESPN+ each day, with coverage beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Live results will be available here.
Below is some more info on the eight Mustangs that have punched their ticket to the West Preliminaries in Sacramento, listed in the order in which they will compete.
Men's Hammer (First Round)
Wednesday, May 24, 10 a.m.
Devaney, a 2022 San Luis Obispo High grad, has had a sensational freshman campaign. The two-time Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Year earned a trip to regionals by breaking Tom Pagani's 62-year-old school record in the men's hammer throw on March 30 at the West Coast Relays with a toss of 202 feet, 4 inches.
Devaney captured third in the hammer at the Big West Championships (197-4) to earn Cal Poly's first podium finish in the event in over two decades. Devaney is seeded 48th in the hammer entering the West Preliminaries and owns the 51st-best mark in the West this season.
The San Luis Obispo native is also No. 5 all-time at Cal Poly in the men's discus (176-8) and took fifth in the event at the conference meet.
Men's Pole Vault (First Round)
Wednesday, May 24, 6:30 p.m.
Bresko, the back-to-back Big West Champion in the men's pole vault, will be looking for redemption when he participates in the West Preliminaries for the second straight year. Last year in Arkansas, Bresko placed 13th overall at the meet, one spot short of advancing to the NCAA Finals in Eugene.
This spring, the junior seems determined to find his way to the NCAA Championships in Austin as he soared to No. 4 on Cal Poly's all-time list in the men's pole vault at the conference championships, clearing a lifetime best of 18 feet, 1 inch to cruise to the Big West title. The mark was the best by the Big West champion since Borya Celentano (LBSU) in 1999.
Bresko enters regionals ranked No. 9 in the West and tied for 15th in the nation.
Men's 1,500 (First Round)
Wednesday, May 24, 6:30 p.m.
Pickren is fresh off an impressive showing at the Big West Championships. The sophomore secured third in the men's 1,500-meter to secure All-Big West honors for the first time. He ran the fastest time in prelims at the meet and also finished 14th in the 5,000 with a personal-best time (15:13.76).
Pickren booked his first trip to regionals by running the fifth-fastest 1,500 time in school history (3:43.29) at the Oxy Invitational on May 6, Cal Poly's final regular season meet.
Pickren is seeded No. 34 in the 1,500 heading into the West Preliminaries.
Men's 1,500 (First Round)
Wednesday, May 24, 6:30 p.m.
Shively also had an historic performance at the Oxy Invitational to earn his spot at regionals. Shively posted the seventh-fastest 1,500 time (3:43.47) in Cal Poly history at the meet.
The redshirt junior grabbed fifth in the 10,000 at the Big West Championships to score team points for the Mustangs. Shively, who captured second in the 1,500 at the 2022 conference meet, is seeded No. 37 entering regionals.
During the indoor season, Shively became one of only two Mustangs in program history to run a sub four-minute mile, running a 3:59.74 at the Boston University Last Chance Invite.
Men's 800 (First Round)
Wednesday, May 24, 7:50 p.m.
To say McCarthy has had an historic season thus far might be an understatement. The redshirt sophomore shattered the school record in the men's 800 and 1,500 and became the first Cal Poly athlete to run a sub four-minute mile during the indoor season.
At the Big West Championships on Saturday, McCarthy became Cal Poly's first back-to-back Big West champion in the men's 800, running a time of 1:47.14 to break his own school record. The time was also the fastest ran at the conference meet since 2012.
McCarthy, the fifth repeat 800 champion in Big West history, is currently ranked No. 8 heading into the West Regional and No. 16 in Division I. McCarthy was just 0.08 seconds away from earning an automatic qualifier berth to the NCAA Championships in the 800 last year, placing 15th overall at the NCAA West Preliminaries with a time of 1:48.00.
Women's Pole Vault (First Round)
Thursday, May 25, 6:30 p.m.
The freshman sensation in the women's pole vault qualified for West Regionals by clearing a collegiate best of 13 feet, 3.75 inches at the Conover Classic, currently No. 5 on Cal Poly's all-time list.
Evans captured second at the Big West Championships with a mark of 12-9.5. As a senior at Scripps Ranch High last year, the San Diego native posted a lifetime best of 14 feet in the pole vault to place first at the CIF San Diego Section Division 2 Championships. The mark was tied for the best in the state in 2022.
Evans is seeded No. 38 entering West Regionals.
Men's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Semifinals)
Friday, May 26, 5:40 p.m.
Guerra performed at his best when it mattered most, posting an over 10-second lifetime best in the 3,000 steeplechase to claim the Big West title and punch his first career ticket to the West Preliminaries.
Guerra, who finished third at the 2022 conference meet, became Cal Poly's fifth Big West champion in the 3,000 steeplechase and first since 2018.
The junior enters the West Regional seeded No. 44 in the event.
Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Semifinals)
Saturday, May 27, 5:40 p.m.
Victor, a grad transfer from Sacramento State, has certainly left her mark in her one season with the program — and a spot at regionals is just icing on the cake. She secured her berth in the West Preliminaries by running the second-fastest women's 3,000 steeplechase time (10:16.43) at the Steve Scott Invitational on April 28.
At the Big West Championships, Victor captured second in the 3,000 steeplechase and sixth in the 5,000 with a personal-best time (16:52.44).
Victor, seeded 38th entering regionals, will get one last chance to compete at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium after spending five years on the Hornets' track team (2018-22).
The full list of qualifiers for the West Preliminaries can be found below:
Players Mentioned
