NCAA West Regional
Cornejo Makes History; Mustang Men, Women Place Eighth at West Regional
11/15/2024 6:00:00 PM | Cross Country
COLFAX, Wash. — Highlighted by junior Tatiana Cornejo making history, the Cal Poly men’s and women’s cross country teams wrapped up their seasons with strong performances at the NCAA West Regional hosted by Washington State on Friday at the Colfax Golf Club.
Both the Mustang men and women placed eighth at the meet for the second straight year. For the women, it marked the third time in the last seven years they took eighth at regionals — tied for their third highest finish in program history. For the men, the result was tied for their best since placing seventh in 2013.
Cornejo shined for the Mustangs, capturing 25th overall in the women’s 6K with a time of 20:14.6 to secure USTFCCCA All-West Region honors for the second straight year. The 2024 Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Year is the first multiple-time All-Region honoree for the Mustangs since Peyton Bilo in 2015-16. All-Region praise is awarded to the top 25 finishers in each of the nine regional meets around the country.
Tot made history today ??
— Cal Poly TF/XC (@CalPolyTrack_XC) November 16, 2024
With a 25th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional, junior Tatiana Cornejo became Cal Poly’s first multiple-time All-West Region honoree since 2015-16!!#RideHigh???? pic.twitter.com/LyGp2UJzRm
Senior Schuyler Gooley was right on Cornejo’s heels, placing 30th with a 6K time of 20:24.3. The Hopkinton, Mass. native won the Big West individual title just two weeks and finishes her cross country career as a three-time All-Big West honoree.
Senior Hana Catsimanes was the next woman to cross the finish line for the Mustangs, securing 54th (20:47.6). Sophomore Sydney Sundgren, the 2023 Big West XC Freshman of the Year, stepped up and placed 63rd overall (20:58.1). Redshirt sophomore Sophia Nordenholz finished 71st (21:02.6), sophomore Kelli Gaffney took 92nd (21:22.0) and junior Riley Cash was 107th (21:35.0) to round out the seven runners that competed for Cal Poly.
The Mustangs, who were ranked No. 9 in the West Region heading into the meet, were the top finishing Big West school and ended up with 237 points, 60 in front of ninth-place Oregon State and 68 behind seventh-place Washington State.
On the men’s side, graduate student Davis Bove paced the Mustangs once again in his final collegiate race. The three-time All-Region honoree captured 38th overall with a 10K time of 29:55.0. Two weeks ago, the Franklin, Tenn. native became the first repeat Big West individual champion on the men’s side since Cal Poly’s Jake Ritter in 2018-19 and the 10th in conference history. Last fall, Bove placed eighth overall at the West Regional to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which was tied for the second-highest individual finish by a Mustang man at the regional meet in program history.
Senior Anthony Guerra and redshirt freshman Rory Catsimanes crossed the finish line just over a second apart as Guerra secured 44th (29:58.6) and Catsimanes 45th (29:59.9 personal best) in his regional debut.
Redshirt junior Michael Chambers had an impressive race, running a 10K lifetime best of 30:25.3 to grab 55th. Senior Colton Swinth also ran a PR and wasn’t far behind Chambers, securing 58th (30:29.4). Redshirt junior Spencer Pickren was the final Mustang to cross the finish line, placing 81st (31:01.9).
The Cal Poly men finished with 235 points, 9 in front of ninth-place Washington State and 54 behind seventh-place Boise State.
The showing at the NCAA West Regional capped off another impressive season for the Cal Poly cross country program, which became just the second school in conference history to sweep the Big West men’s and women’s team titles in three successive seasons.
