NCAA Outdoor Championships
McCarthy Heads to Austin for NCAA Championships
6/5/2023 11:50:00 AM | Track and Field
AUSTIN, Texas — With every meet that passes, it's becoming more and more difficult to describe all that Aidan McCarthy has accomplished on the track this spring. This week at Mike A. Meyers Stadium in Austin he is looking to make even more history as Cal Poly's lone representative at the 2023 NCAA Championships.
McCarthy will race in the semifinals of the men's 800-meter at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at 6:14 p.m. PST Wednesday. Live coverage of the meet is available on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
During the semifinals, 24 of the best 800 runners in the country will be split into three heats. The top two finishers in each heat along with the next three fastest times will advance to the 800 finals on Friday, which are slated to start at 7:14 p.m. PST.
McCarthy will race in heat three and is seeded No. 1 heading into the meet thanks to an incredible performance at the NCAA West Preliminaries in Sacramento less than two weeks ago. The Pleasanton, California, native captured first in the West Prelims, becoming the first Mustang in program history to secure a title in an event at the meet. His time of 1:46.26 shattered his own school record by .88 seconds, was the best recorded across the East and West Prelims and is the fifth fastest ran in Division I this season.
The redshirt sophomore is Cal Poly's first national qualifier since Peyton Bilo in 2017. He is also the first athlete on the men's side to book a trip to nationals since John Prader in 2012.
Earlier this season, McCarthy became Cal Poly's first back-to-back Big West champion in the men's 800 and the fifth repeat champion in conference history. The Big West Men's Co-Track Athlete of the Year also broke the school record in the men's 1,500 this year and during the indoor season became the first athlete in program history to run a sub four-minute mile.
By qualifying for nationals, McCarthy has already become the first Mustang in Division I program history to earn All-American honors in the men's 800. At the NCAA Championships, the top eight finishers in an event secure First Team All-American status, ninth through 16th place garner Second Team All-American praise and 17th through 24th place receive Honorable Mention All-American recognition. Aris Borjas was Cal Poly's last First Team All-American, placing third in the men's javelin at the 2007 NCAA Championships.
Cal Poly owns five individual Division I outdoor national titles. During their Mustang careers, Mohinder Gill (1970, 1971) and Reynaldo Brown (1971, 1973) each won a pair of national championships in the men's triple jump and high jump respectively. Tom Pagani captured first in the men's hammer throw in 1961.
Follow Cal Poly track and field on Twitter and Instagram for updates on McCarthy's journey at the NCAA Championships.
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