Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational
Cal Poly Men Place 5th, Women 12th at Lakefront Invite
10/3/2025 3:00:00 PM | Cross Country
CHICAGO, Ill. — Highlighted by several standout individual performances, the Cal Poly men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational hosted by Loyola University Chicago on Friday, finishing fifth and 12th respectively.
Racing on the Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course for the second straight year, the Cal Poly men took home a fifth-place result as a team with 147 points, finishing ahead of a pair nationally ranked teams in No. 16 North Carolina (sixth) and No. 24 Washington (eighth).
Making their season debuts, redshirt seniors Spencer Pickren and Bryce Kueker led the way, both placing in the top 20. Pickren crossed the line first for the Mustangs in 16th with a time of 23:55.4, while Kueker took 19th with a personal best 8K time of 23:58.5.
Redshirt senior Michael Chambers and redshirt sophomore Rory Catsimanes placed 31st (24:13.9) and 38th (24:21.4) respectively in their first race of the season. Redshirt freshman Eddie Sion finished 43rd (24:24.5), redshirt sophomore Dheeraj Gurusamy 50th (24:35.6) and sophomore Devin Ibarra 72nd (25:01.6) to round out the top seven finishers for the Cal Poly men.
Battling a loaded field filled with seven nationally ranked teams, the Cal Poly women secured 12th out of 15 teams with 286 points.
Sophomores Nikki Bridges and Renae Searls set the tone for the women as the Mustangs’ top two finishers, both running 6K lifetime bests. Bridges placed 34th (20:27.4), while Searls grabbed 46th (20:41.3). The duo was followed closely behind by junior Kelli Gaffney in 51st (20:46.6).
Sophomore Melisse Djomby Enyawe was the fourth finisher across the line in 82nd (21:16.4) and redshirt senior Isabel Sanchez earned 93rd (21:29.3) in her season debut. Junior Sydney Sundgren placed 94th (21:34.3) and redshirt sophomore Ashlyn Leath finished 106th (22:09.4).
The Mustangs return to action on Saturday, Oct. 18, splitting the squad between a pair of meets. Cal Poly will send its top runners to the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet in Missouri and the rest of the team to the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara.
Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational
Cal Poly Results
MEN
TEAM SCORES — 1, Wisconsin, 71. 2, Loyola Chicago, 108. 3, Minnesota, 111. 4, Louisville, 129. 5, Cal Poly, 147. 6, North Carolina, 147. 7, Toledo, 164. 8, Washington, 192. 9, Providence, 202. 10, Boston College, 219. 11, NC State, 263. 12, Florida State, 279. 13, Indiana, 337. 14, Santa Clara, 385.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — 16, Spencer Pickren, 23:55.4. 19, Bryce Kueker, 23:58.5. 31, Michael Chambers, 24:13.9. 38, Rory Catsimanes, 24:21.4. 43, Eddie Sion, 24:24.5. 50, Dheeraj Gurusamy, 24:35.6. 72, Devin Ibarra, 25:01.6. 73, Micah Sanchez, 25:03.8. 78, Tyler Downs, 25:16.0. 85, Micah Grossman, 25:25.3.
WOMEN
TEAM SCORES — 1, NC State, 34. 2, Northwestern, 59. 3, Gonzaga, 123. 4, Washington, 141. 5, Boston College, 165. 6, Louisville, 189. 7, Florida State, 195. 8, Minnesota, 200. 9, Toledo, 205. 10, Providence, 235. 11, Wisconsin, 263. 12, Cal Poly, 286. 13, Indiana, 352. 14, Loyola, 381. 15, Santa Clara, 389.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — 34, Nikki Bridges, 20:27.4. 46, Renae Searls, 20:41.3. 51, Kelli Gaffney, 20:46.6. 82, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 21:16.4. 93, Isabel Sanchez, 21:29.3. 94, Sydney Sundgren, 21:34.3. 106, Ashlyn Leath, 22:09.4. 111, Ella Echsner, 22:22.6.
