NCAA Pre-Nationals
Cal Poly Men Earn 13th, Women 16th at Pre-Nationals in Missouri
10/17/2025 3:00:00 PM | Cross Country
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Cal Poly cross country program battled some of the best teams in the country at the Pre-Nationals Invitational hosted by Missouri on Friday with the men taking home a 13th-place finish and the women securing 16th in a loaded field.
The meet was held at the host site for this year’s NCAA Championships — the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. Once again, several Mustangs had standout performances in the final regular season meet for Cal Poly’s top runners.
On the women’s side, the Mustangs encountered six nationally ranked teams and three receiving votes. Despite the competition, the Cal Poly women more than held their own, finishing 16th out of 38 teams with 438 points. BYU, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, ran away with the team title by 145 points over second place and 19th-ranked Villanova. Cal Poly was the third highest finishing non-Power Four team at the meet.
For the second straight meet, sophomore Nikki Bridge led the way for the Mustangs with another impressive showing, placing 48th overall in a field of over 340 runners with a 6K time of 20:33.3. Junior Kelli Gaffney crossed the finish line less than seven seconds behind her in 58th (20:40.0).
Sophomore Renae Searls was the third Mustang to finish, grabbing 76th overall (20:53.1). Sophomore Melisse Djomby Enyawe and redshirt sophomore Ashlyn Leath secured 140th (21:26.9) and 144th (21:29.3) respectively, junior Sydney Sundgren took 161st (21:37.1) and redshirt senior Isabel Sanchez rounded out the runners that competed for the Mustangs in 219th.
The Cal Poly men earned 13th out of 31 teams in a field that featured No. 19 Missouri, No. 24 Ole Miss and No. 22 Arkansas. The Mustangs finished with 313 team points in the 8K invitational race, 1 point in front of 14th-place Kentucky.
Two of the Mustangs’ most experienced runners led the charge as redshirt senior Bryce Kueker captured 43rd with an 8K time of 24:01.5 in a field of over 260 runners, while redshirt senior Spencer Pickren brought home 51st (24:06.5).
Redshirt freshman Eddie Sion had a stellar performance as the Mustangs’ third runner on the day, securing 54th with a lifetime best 8K time of 24:10.0. Redshirt sophomore Rory Catsimanes earned 81st (24:26.7) and redshirt senior Michael Chambers grabbed 90th (24:33.0).
Redshirt sophomores Micah Sanchez and Dheeraj Gurusamy placed 114th (24:52.8) and 124th (24:58.8) respectively to wrap up the seven runners that scored for the Mustangs.
Georgia captured the men’s title at Pre-Nationals with 119 points.
A handful of Cal Poly runners will compete in the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara on Saturday morning to cap off regular season action for the Mustangs. Racing starts at 8:45 a.m. from Baylands Regional Park and you can follow the live results HERE.
Following Saturday’s meet, the Mustangs will begin preparations for the Big West Championships on Friday, Oct. 31 at Queen Kapi'olani Regional Park in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Cal Poly is seeking to sweep the Big West men’s and women’s team titles for the fourth consecutive year — a feat no other team in the history of the conference has accomplished.
Pre-Nationals Invitational
Cal Poly Results
MEN
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — 43, Bryce Kueker, 24:01.5. 51, Spencer Pickren, 24:06.5. 54, Eddie Sion, 24:10.0. 81, Rory Catsimanes, 24:26.7. 90, Michael Chambers, 24:33.0. 114, Micah Sanchez, 24:52.8. 124, Dheeraj Gurusamy, 24:58.8. 216, Devin Ibarra, 25:58.2.
WOMEN
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — 48, Nikki Bridges, 20:33.3. 58, Kelli Gaffney, 20:40.0. 76, Renae Searls, 20:53.1. 140, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 21:26.9. 144, Ashlyn Leath, 21:29.3. 161, Sydney Sundgren, 21:37.1. 219, Isabel Sanchez, 22:03.5.
