Big West Championships
Cal Poly Cross Country Earns Historic Fourth Straight Big West Sweep
10/31/2025 7:30:00 PM | Cross Country
HONOLULU, Hawai’i — The Cal Poly cross country program continued its dominance over the rest of the teams in the conference on Friday at the Queen Kapi’olani Regional Park in Honolulu, sweeping the Big West men’s and women’s team championships for the fourth consecutive year.
This marks the first time in the history of the Big West that a team has swept the men’s and women’s team titles in cross country four straight seasons since the conference began sponsoring both sports in 1983.
The Cal Poly men claimed their Big West record 21st title overall and eighth in their last nine attempts, while the women captured their 11th championship in program history and ninth in the last 13 conference meets. The last time the Big West Championships were held in Hawai’i in 2016, the Mustang also swept the conference titles.
The men scored a mere 27 points en route to a 20-point victory over second-place UC Davis as six Mustang runners finished inside the top 10. Redshirt senior Spencer Pickren led the way, capturing second overall in the men’s 8K race with a time of 24:22.3 to earn All-Big West honors in cross country for the second time.
Redshirt freshman Eddie Sion was next to cross the line, taking fourth (24:25.9). Redshirt sophomore Rory Catsimanes (24:35.3), redshirt sophomore Dheeraj Gurusamy (24:36.0), redshirt senior Michael Chambers (24:37.0) and redshirt senior Bryce Kueker (24:39.2) placed sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth respectively to secure the championship for the Mustangs. By finishing in the top 10 individually, Catsimanes and Chambers both grabbed All-Big West praise in cross country for the second time in their careers, while Sion, Gurusamy and Kueker earned the first honors of their careers.
“I thought we ran pretty solid as a group,” Cal Poly Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Ryan Vanhoy said after the meet. “We knew this would be a close competition this year … I thought we showed good patience. We waited until someone else made a move, responded to it and closed it out.”
Redshirt freshman Micah Grossman (16th, 25:08.4), true freshman Liam Miller (17th, 25:12.0), sophomore Devin Ibarra (20th, 25:32.1) and junior Tyler Downs (30th, 25:39.2) also competed in the meet for the Cal Poly men.
On the women’s side, the Mustangs coasted to the Big West crown, finishing an incredible 44 points in front of second-place UC Irvine with 31 points, the lowest point total by the Big West champion since 2021 and the second best score ever by Cal Poly at the conference meet.
“Our strength is definitely running as a unit and that was kind of the mindset today,” head women’s cross country coach Michelle Chewens said after the victory. “… this means a lot to this group. We have a handful of people that didn’t even make the conference team last year so for them to step in and fill the shoes of people that have been helping us build a really strong culture is really special for everybody.”
Sophomore Nikki Bridges continued her stellar sophomore season by securing a second place finish overall in the women’s 6K race with a time of 20:49.5. It was the third straight meet that she was the first runner to cross the finish line for the Mustangs.
Junior Kelli Gaffney was right behind Bridges, placing third with a 6K time of 20:58.3 to capture All-Big West honors in cross country for the first time. Two more Mustangs placed in the top 10 as sophomore Renae Searls grabbed fifth (21:22.9) and sophomore Melisse Djomby Enyawe was 10th (21:41.0).
Redshirt senior Isabel Sanchez took 11th (21:46.8) as the Mustangs’ fifth runner. Redshirt sophomore Ashlyn Leath (13th, 21:49.5), junior Sydney Sundgren (16th, 21:53.7) and redshirt freshman Ella Echsner (67th, 23:519) also competed for the Mustangs.
Cal Poly travels to Sacramento on Friday, Nov. 14, to compete in the NCAA West Regional hosted at Haggin Oaks Golf Course.
