Wednesday, May 22
Fayetteville, AR / John McDonnell Field
All Day
at
NCAA West Preliminaries
Smith, Bove Advance to 1,500 Quarterfinals at West Prelims
5/23/2024 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Graduate student Davis Bove and sophomore Carson Smith both advanced to the quarterfinals in the men's 1,500-meter to highlight action for the Cal Poly track and field program during the first day of the NCAA West Prelims on Wednesday at University of Arkansas' John McDonnell Field.
All 10 of the Mustang men that qualified for the West Prelims were in action Wednesday and several had standout performances.
Bove and Smith both punched their tickets to the 1,500 quarterfinals at the West Prelims by finishing in the top five in their respective heats Wednesday.
Bove secured an auto bid to the 1,500 quarterfinals by taking fourth in heat 1 with a time of 3:41.68 — the 15th-fastest ran in the First Round Wednesday. In his first appearance at the NCAA West Prelims, Bove — a two-time NCAA East Prelims qualifier in the 1,500 while competing for LSU from 2019-23 — took care of business and earned a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals for the second time in his collegiate career. The 2024 Big West 1,500 champion made it to the quarterfinals last year at LSU, finishing just three places short of advancing to the NCAA Championships. The Franklin, Tenn. native will have a chance at redemption Friday.
Competing in his first West Prelims, Smith was calm, cool and collected, grabbing fifth in heat 3 to automatically qualify for the 1,500 quarterfinals. Smith ran a lifetime best of 3:41.41, improving upon his fourth-fastest time in school history. The time was also the 13th-fastest in the First Round Wednesday. Smith was one of nine runners to run a PR in the First Round of the 1,500.
Bove, Smith and 22 other qualifiers will race in the 1,500 quarterfinals at 3:15 p.m. PDT Friday. The top five finishers in each of the two heats along with the next two fastest times overall will advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 5-8. Bove is also slated to race in the men's 5,000 at 6:10 p.m. PDT Friday, but will not if he qualifies for nationals in the 1,500.
Three other Mustangs competed in the men's 1,500 Wednesday. Lewis Westwood, Chris Caudillo and Spencer Pickren finished 39th (3:46.79), 47th (3:50.71) and 48th (3:52.40) respectively.
Corban Payne had a strong showing in his first NCAA West Prelims appearance. He snagged 22nd in the men's shot put with a mark of 58 feet, 8.75 inches, just 3.5 inches off his personal best of 59-0.25 which ranks fourth in school history. Payne was seeded 33rd entering the meet and was sitting in fourth place after the first two flights of the event.
Junior Travis Martin and sophomore Rory Devaney, who finished second and third respectively in the men's hammer throw at the Big West Championships, took 26th (205-4) and 33rd (200-4) in the event at West Prelims. It was Martin's first appearance at the meet. Devaney wraps up his second trip to the West Prelims on Friday at 11 a.m. PDT when he competes in the men's discus.
In his West Prelims debut, junior Noah Bustos placed 44th in the men's long jump (22-8).
The Cal Poly women will take center stage Thursday as three of the Mustangs' four qualifiers on that side will be in action — junior Melody Nwagwu (long jump, 1 p.m. PDT), sophomore Lexi Evans (pole vault, 1:30 p.m. PDT) and graduate student Shelby Daniele (200, 3:45 p.m. PDT). Due to the potential of severe weather Thursday, each field event has been moved up an hour and a half and each running event a full three hours. Day 2 of the NCAA West Prelims on Thursday start at 6:30 a.m. PDT with the women's hammer.
Cal Poly Results
NCAA West Prelims Day 1
Men's 200-meter: MacGregor TeSelle, DQ.
Men's 1,500-meter: 13, Carson Smith, 3:41.409. 15, Davis Bove, 3:41.68. 39, Lewis Westwood, 3:46.79. 47, Chris Caudillo, 3:50.71. 48, Spencer Pickren, 3:52.40.
Men's Long Jump: 44, Noah Bustos, 22-8.
Men's Shot Put: 22, Corban Payne, 58-8.75.
Men's Hammer: 26, Travis Martin, 205-4. 33, Rory Devaney, 200-4.
All 10 of the Mustang men that qualified for the West Prelims were in action Wednesday and several had standout performances.
Bove and Smith both punched their tickets to the 1,500 quarterfinals at the West Prelims by finishing in the top five in their respective heats Wednesday.
Bove secured an auto bid to the 1,500 quarterfinals by taking fourth in heat 1 with a time of 3:41.68 — the 15th-fastest ran in the First Round Wednesday. In his first appearance at the NCAA West Prelims, Bove — a two-time NCAA East Prelims qualifier in the 1,500 while competing for LSU from 2019-23 — took care of business and earned a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals for the second time in his collegiate career. The 2024 Big West 1,500 champion made it to the quarterfinals last year at LSU, finishing just three places short of advancing to the NCAA Championships. The Franklin, Tenn. native will have a chance at redemption Friday.
Competing in his first West Prelims, Smith was calm, cool and collected, grabbing fifth in heat 3 to automatically qualify for the 1,500 quarterfinals. Smith ran a lifetime best of 3:41.41, improving upon his fourth-fastest time in school history. The time was also the 13th-fastest in the First Round Wednesday. Smith was one of nine runners to run a PR in the First Round of the 1,500.
Bove, Smith and 22 other qualifiers will race in the 1,500 quarterfinals at 3:15 p.m. PDT Friday. The top five finishers in each of the two heats along with the next two fastest times overall will advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 5-8. Bove is also slated to race in the men's 5,000 at 6:10 p.m. PDT Friday, but will not if he qualifies for nationals in the 1,500.
Three other Mustangs competed in the men's 1,500 Wednesday. Lewis Westwood, Chris Caudillo and Spencer Pickren finished 39th (3:46.79), 47th (3:50.71) and 48th (3:52.40) respectively.
Corban Payne had a strong showing in his first NCAA West Prelims appearance. He snagged 22nd in the men's shot put with a mark of 58 feet, 8.75 inches, just 3.5 inches off his personal best of 59-0.25 which ranks fourth in school history. Payne was seeded 33rd entering the meet and was sitting in fourth place after the first two flights of the event.
Junior Travis Martin and sophomore Rory Devaney, who finished second and third respectively in the men's hammer throw at the Big West Championships, took 26th (205-4) and 33rd (200-4) in the event at West Prelims. It was Martin's first appearance at the meet. Devaney wraps up his second trip to the West Prelims on Friday at 11 a.m. PDT when he competes in the men's discus.
In his West Prelims debut, junior Noah Bustos placed 44th in the men's long jump (22-8).
The Cal Poly women will take center stage Thursday as three of the Mustangs' four qualifiers on that side will be in action — junior Melody Nwagwu (long jump, 1 p.m. PDT), sophomore Lexi Evans (pole vault, 1:30 p.m. PDT) and graduate student Shelby Daniele (200, 3:45 p.m. PDT). Due to the potential of severe weather Thursday, each field event has been moved up an hour and a half and each running event a full three hours. Day 2 of the NCAA West Prelims on Thursday start at 6:30 a.m. PDT with the women's hammer.
Cal Poly Results
NCAA West Prelims Day 1
Men's 200-meter: MacGregor TeSelle, DQ.
Men's 1,500-meter: 13, Carson Smith, 3:41.409. 15, Davis Bove, 3:41.68. 39, Lewis Westwood, 3:46.79. 47, Chris Caudillo, 3:50.71. 48, Spencer Pickren, 3:52.40.
Men's Long Jump: 44, Noah Bustos, 22-8.
Men's Shot Put: 22, Corban Payne, 58-8.75.
Men's Hammer: 26, Travis Martin, 205-4. 33, Rory Devaney, 200-4.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints / LJ
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
LJ / TJ / Relays
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints / Relays
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and FieldCal Poly vs. SJSU, Volleyball Highlights -- Sep 14th, 2025
Monday, September 15
Coach Wulff Postgame Interview - Western Oregon (9-13-25)
Sunday, September 14
Michael Briscoe & Mikey D'Amato Postgame Interview - Western Oregon (9-13-25)
Sunday, September 14
Cal Poly vs. Western Oregon, Football Highlights -- Sep 13th, 2025
Sunday, September 14
