UW Invitational
Led by McCarthy, Cal Poly Breaks 6 School Records at UW Invite
2/1/2025 9:00:00 PM | Track and Field
SEATTLE, Wash. — Highlighted by Aidan McCarthy running the eighth-fastest men’s 800-meter time in Division I this season, the Cal Poly track and field program wrapped up another stellar performance indoors Saturday at the UW Invitational. Across the two-day meet inside Dempsey Indoor, Cal Poly shattered six school records and posted a total of 15 top-five marks in program history.
The showing this Friday and Saturday in Seattle comes just two weeks after the Mustangs opened their indoor season on Jan. 17-18 by breaking six school records and recording 19 top-five marks at the UW Indoor Preview.
This weekend’s trip to Seattle saw McCarthy (men’s 800-meter) and sophomores Jordan Jackson (women’s 400-meter) and Alexander Franco (men’s 400-meter) all set new school records, and graduate student Corban Payne (men’s shot put), and juniors MacGregor TeSelle (men’s 200-meter) and Rory Devaney (men’s weight throw) all shatter their own school records.
In his first time running the 800-meter indoors or outdoors since placing seventh in the event at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships, McCarthy didn’t show any rust and picked up right where he left off. In a special invite section of the 800 on Saturday afternoon, McCarthy posted a time of 1:46.55 to obliterate the previous school record by over six seconds, only finishing behind UW’s Cole Lindhorst (1:46.47). His time surpassed the previous meet record, is currently the eighth-best ran in the NCAA this indoor season and was just .29 seconds off his lifetime best outdoors (1:46.26). It was McCarthy’s first time running the 800 indoors, and the Pleasanton, Calif. native now owns both the indoor and outdoor school record in the 800. Two weeks ago in Seattle, McCarthy broke the school record in the men’s 1,000 (2:19.68) while competing in his first track meet since Dec. 2, 2023.
TeSelle continued his impressive start to the indoor season by soaring past his previous school record in the men’s 200 Friday. The Rocklin, Calif. native shaved over .4 seconds off his school record mark to capture first in the 200 with a meet record time of 21.09 seconds. On Saturday, TeSelle placed second in the men’s 60-meter with a time of 6.80 seconds, just .06 seconds away from his own school record he broke two weeks ago.
Devaney shined Friday night in the men’s weight throw, breaking his own school record in the event yet again with a mark of 71 feet, 4.25 inches (21.75 meters), improving upon his previous personal best by nearly 2 feet. The mark is currently the 25th-best in Division I this season and helped him claim first in the event at the UW Invite.
Jackson and Franco broke school records in the 400 back-to-back Saturday afternoon. On the women’s side, Jackson got things started by demolishing a 21-year-old program record in the women’s indoor 400 with a time of 55.12 seconds, just .24 seconds off her lifetime PR outdoors (54.88). The time surpassed LeBren Martin’s 2004 school record (55.95) by over .8 seconds and allowed her to take home sixth in the event. On Friday, the 2024 All-Big West honoree in the 400 also ran an indoor PR in the 200 (25.17 seconds) to place eighth. On the men’s side, Franco followed up that performance with a strong one of his own, breaking Joey Souto’s 2024 school record in the 400 by just .01 seconds with a time of 48.60 seconds to finish ninth. On the first day of the meet Friday, Franco also shaved .01 seconds off his third best time in school history in the men’s indoor 200 (22.16 seconds) to take ninth.
In the final event of the meet for the Mustangs on Saturday, Payne made sure to send the team back home to San Luis Obispo with one last incredible performance as he bested his own school record in the men’s indoor shot put by well over a foot (55 feet, 11.25 inches) to capture second.
In the first event of the meet for the Mustangs on Friday, junior Lexi Evans got the record-breaking weekend started by recording the second-best mark in school history in the women’s indoor pole vault (13 feet, 7.75 inches). The 2024 Big West pole vault champion improved upon her previous indoor PR by over 7 feet to place seventh overall.
Four more top-five marks in program history were recorded on the women’s side during the UW Invitational. In her first career meet as a Mustang, freshman Ava Simos ran a time of 7.68 seconds in the 60-meter prelims, tied for No. 4 on Cal Poly’s all-time list. She finished sixth in the event and grabbed seventh in the 60 hurdles (9.35 seconds). Sophomore Melanie Castelli cleared an all-conditions lifetime best in the women’s high jump of 5 feet, 8.5 inches — fifth best in school history — to earn third, while senior Cadence Roy-Williams secured fourth in the women’s long jump with the fifth-best mark in school history (18 feet, 9 inches). For the second straight indoor meet, sophomore Kelli Gaffney dropped an impressive personal best in the women’s 3,000-meter, crossing the finish line with a time of 9:33.69 — fifth fastest in program history. Gaffney has shaved nearly 50 seconds off her PR from last season in the event. On Saturday, Gaffney turned around and ran an almost 13-second PR in the women’s mile (4:50.85).
On the men’s side, senior Spencer Pickren shaved over two seconds off his personal best in the mile to move to No. 2 in school history in the event with a blistering time of 3:57.31. Pickren, who broke his own indoor 3,000 school record at the UW Preview two weeks ago, finished sixth at the meet and his mile time currently ranks 44th in Division I this season. Senior Travis Martin tossed the second-best men’s weight throw mark on Friday (64 feet, 10 inches) and the third-best indoor shot put mark on Saturday (41 feet, 1.75 inches), placing fifth and 15th in the events respectively.
Sophomore Kalia Estes took fifth in the women’s 60 hurdles with a time (8.92 seconds) that was just .02 seconds off her No. 5 time in school history. Senior Noah Bustos was .01 seconds (6.97) off his third-best time in program history in the men’s 60, earning seventh. Junior Chase Kubinski also placed seventh in the women’s high jump (5-4.5).
Cal Poly heads back to Dempsey Indoor for the final time as a team this indoor season to compete in the Husky Classic on Feb. 14-15.
Cal Poly Results
Women
60-meter: 6, Ava Simos, 7.68. 16, Desie Armstrong, 7.80. 17, Ciella Seals, 7.80. 19, Cadence Roy-Williams, 7.86. 22, Ava Fortier, 7.87. 26, Madison Easter, 7.93.
200-meter: 8, Jordan Jackson, 25.17. 12, Madison Easter, 25.41. 16, Elianah DeMange, 25.65. 17, Ciella Seals, 25.75. 24, Cadence Roy-Williams, 26.06. 26, Ava Fortier, 26.28. 43, Desie Armstrong, 28.01.
400-meter: 6, Jordan Jackson, 55.12. 17, Kalia Estes, 58.04.
Mile: 46, Kelli Gaffney, 4:50.85. 69, Sydney Sundgren, 4:57.49. 81, Ashlyn Leath, 5:00.42.
3,000-meter: 21, Kelli Gaffney, 9:33.69. 54, Sydney Sundgren, 9:55.82. 58, Ashlyn Leath, 9:59.97.
60-meter hurdles: 5, Kalia Estes, 8.92. 7, Ava Simos, 9.35.
High jump (10 a.m. Saturday): 3, Melanie Castelli, 5-8.5. 7, Chase Kubinski, 5-4.5. 9, Maia Garcia, 5-2.5. 9, Lariel Henley, 5-2.5.
Pole vault: 7, Lexi Evans, 13-7.75.
Long jump: 4, Cadence Roy-Williams, 18-9. 10, Desie Armstrong, 18-0.5.
Shot put: 17, Taylor Hofland, 39-7.75. 24, Isabella Rigby, 35-5.25.
Weight throw: 10, Anna Grexton, 52-8.25.
Men
60-meter: 2, MacGregor TeSelle, 6.80. 7, Noah Bustos, 6.97.
200-meter: 1, MacGregor TeSelle, 21.09. 9, Alexander Franco, 22.16.
400-meter: 9, Alexander Franco, 48.60.
800-meter Invite: 2, Aidan McCarthy, 1:46.55.
Mile: 6, Spencer Pickren, 3:57.31. 16, Lewis Westwood, 4:02.82. 38, Mateo Malko-Allen, 4:07.02. 44, Taj Clark, 4:07.89.
Long jump: 13, Noah Bustos, 22-0.75.
Shot put: 2, Corban Payne, 55-11.25. 15, Travis Martin, 41-1.75.
Weight throw: 1, Rory Devaney, 71-4.25. 5, Travis Martin, 64-10.
