Mark Conover Classic
Evans Shatters School Record to Highlight Mark Conover Classic
3/23/2025 7:00:00 PM | Track and Field
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Junior Lexi Evans shattered the school record in the women’s pole vault, the men’s 4x100-meter relay posted its fastest time in 21 years and the Mustangs won 21 events during the third annual Mark Conover Classic on Saturday at the Miller & Capriotti Athletics Complex.
The meet was Cal Poly’s first and only at home this season, and the Mustangs made sure to make the most out of it, showcasing their depth on both the men’s and women’s side. Athletes from Big West schools Cal State Bakersfield and UC Santa Barbara took part in the meet, along with a handful of junior colleges.
Evans stole the spotlight during the home meet, soaring to new heights in the pole vault by clearing a lifetime best of 14 feet, 5.25 inches (4.40 meters) to break Brooke Tjerrild’s 2021 school record in the event by over 5 inches. The two-time NCAA West Preliminaries qualifier currently owns the top mark recorded in the NCAA this outdoor season in the event.
Evans’ performance allowed her to capture first in the pole vault — one of 11 victories for the Cal Poly women during the meet. Cadence Roy Williams posted a lifetime best of 19 feet, 1.25 inches to win the long jump, and also ran a PR in the 200 (25.33). Sophomore Melanie Castelli cleared an outdoor personal best (5 feet, 8 inches) to claim first in the high jump, while junior Chase Kubinski threw a lifetime best (144 feet, 1 inch) to earn the title in the javelin. Kubinski also matched her PR in the high jump (5-6) to take second.
Senior Melody Nwagwu took first in the women’s triple jump (40-6) and sophomore Kalia Estes claimed the crown in the 400-meter hurdles with a time (1:01.69) that was just .90 seconds off her PR.
In the women’s hammer throw, senior Anna Grexton grabbed first with a toss (170-11) that was just 1 inch off her personal best and freshman Gracelyn Brown recorded the sixth best mark in school history (158-1) to take fourth in her first career meet as a Mustang.
Sophomore Taylor Hofland won the shot put with a personal best (43-5.25) and sophomore Kelli Gaffney ran a PR of 4:31.18 to capture first in the 1,500. Isabel Sanchez finished first in the 2,000 steeplechase (7:01.02) and sophomore Elianah DeMange claimed the title in the 800 with a PR (2:15.37).
On the men’s side, graduate students Corban Payne and Chase Walter both had standout performances to highlight 10 event victories.
Payne improved upon his fourth best mark in school history in the men’s shot put, recording a lifetime best of 60 feet, 0.25 inches to become the fourth Mustang in program history to go over 60 feet in the event. The 2024 NCAA West Prelims qualifier took first in the event. For the first time ever, Walter ran the 800-meter and posted the ninth fastest in school history (1:50.17). Walter captured first to lead a sweep of the top five places by the Mustangs in the event — Lewis Westwood second (1:51.30), Carson Smith third (1:51.97), Taj Clark fourth (1:52.30) and Jeffrey Overgaard fifth (1:52.37).
The Cal Poly men won both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, winning the 4x100 with an impressive time of 40.25 seconds — the fastest by the Mustangs since posting a time of 39.99 seconds in 2004. Noah Bustos, MacGregor TeSelle, Vincent Atilano and Ryan Teeple all ran legs on the historic 4x100 relay. Individually, TeSelle captured first in the 400 (47.41), Atilano won the 400 hurdles with a personal best (52.64) and Bustos grabbed first in the long jump (23-6.5).
Junior Rory Devaney, who broke the school record in the hammer throw at the Bulldog Invite two weeks ago, placed first in the event Saturday (213-10) and won the discus (176-4) — an event he holds the school record in as well. Senior Travis Martin, who is currently No. 2 all-time in the men’s hammer throw, finished second in the event (212-11) at the Conover Classic. Freshman Ben Feyrer earned first in the men’s pole vault (15-5).
Junior Desie Armstrong was just .06 seconds off No. 10 in school history in the women’s 100-meter dash and sophomore Nathan Fifer cleared a lifetime best (6-7.75) to take second in the men’s high jump.
Cal Poly heads to the West Coast Relays hosted by Fresno State on March 28-29.
Cal Poly Results
Women's
100-meter: 2, Desie Armstrong, 11.94. 3, Ciella Seals, 11.98. 4, Madison Easter, 12.07. 6, Tayhlore Hoagland, 12.12. 7, Ava Fortier, 12.25.
200-meter: 3, Madison Easter, 24.65. 5, Cadence Roy-Williams, 25.33. 6, Melody Nwagwu, 25.42. 8, Desie Armstrong, 25.82. 9, Ava Fortier, 25.90. 11, Emma Vogt, 26.26.
800-meter: 1, Elianah DeMange, 2:15.37.
1,500-meter invite: 1, Kelli Gaffney, 4:31.18. 2, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 4:34.67. 4, Ashlyn Leath, 4:39.39. 5, Lianna Guerra, 4:41.32. 6, Renae Searls, 4:45.13.
400-meter hurdles: 1, Kalia Estes, 1:01.69. 3, Avery Adelman, 1:07.35.
2,000-meter steeplechase: 1, Isabel Sanchez, 7:01.02. 2, Sydney Sundgren, 7:02.42.
4x100-meter relay: 2, Cal Poly (Melody Nwagwu, Madison Easter, Cadence Roy-Williams, Desie Armstrong), 46.75.
High jump: 1, Melanie Castelli, 5-8. 2, Chase Kubinski, 5-6. 3, Maia Garcia, 5-6. T4, Lariel Henley, 5-4.
Pole vault: 1, Lexi Evans, 14-5. 2, Logan Hays, 11-11.5. T3, Avery Karner, 11-5.75.
Long jump: 1, Cadence Roy-Williams, 19-1.25. 3, Tayhlore Hoagland, 18-5.75. 6, Grace Sloan, 17-2.
Triple jump: 1, Melody Nwagwu, 40-6. 3, Grace Sloan, 38-2.5.
Shot put: 1, Taylor Hofland, 43-5.25. 4, Ariella Per, 38-3.5.
Discus: 4, Brooklyn Epperley, 140-8. 6, Taylor Hofland, 132-7.
Hammer: 1, Anna Grexton, 170-11. 4, Gracelyn Brown, 158-1. 6, Brooklyn Epperley, 149-5. 11, Ariella Per, 108-0.
Javelin: 1, Chase Kubinski, 144-1. 2, Leala Willman, 123-0. 5, Natalie Porter, 117-7. 6, Avery Karner, 117-3.
Men's
100-meter: 4, Ryan Teeple, 10.77. 6, Jonathan Yu, 10.86. 22, Ben Feyrer, 11.31. 37, Noah Goodrich, 11.67.
200-meter: 2, Ryan Teeple, 21.72.
400-meter: 1, MacGregor TeSelle, 47.41. 2, Alexander Franco, 48.87. 5, Levi Romero, 49.87.
800-meter: 1, Chase Walter, 1:50.17. 2, Lewis Westwood, 1:51.30. 3, Carson Smith, 1:51.97. 4, Taj Clark, 1:52.30. 5, Jeffrey Overgaard, 1:52.37.
1,500-meter invite: 2, Chris Caudillo, 3:45.40. 3, Michael Chambers, 3:46.92. 4, Bryce Kueker, 3:47.16. 5, Ibzan Felix, 3:49.17. 6, Micah Grossman, 3:49.81. 7, Mateo Malko-Allen, 3:50.15. 11, Devin Ibarra, 3:52.82. 12, Micah Sanchez, 3:53.55. 14, Tyler Downs, 3:54.89. 26, Teg Pandher, 4:06.97.
400-meter hurdles: 1, Vincent Atilano, 52.64. 2, Ben Kin Ho Tsang, 53.34.
4x100-meter relay: 1, Cal Poly (Noah Bustos, MacGregor TeSelle, Vincent Atilano, Ryan Teeple), 40.25.
4x400-meter relay: 1, Cal Poly (Alexander Franco, Ben Kin Ho Tsang, Levi Romero, Alexander Franco, Jeffrey Overgaard), 3:18.86.
High jump: 2, Nathan Fifer, 6-7.75. 5, Noah Goodrich, 6-0.
Pole vault: 1, Ben Feyrer, 15-5.
Long jump: 1, Noah Bustos, 23-6.25. 4, Jonathan Yu, 22-1.
Triple jump: 5, Noah Goodrich, 44-10.75.
Shot put: 1, Corban Payne, 60-0.25. 3, Albert Beerbower, 55-2.5.
Discus: 1, Rory Devaney, 176-4. 4, Travis Martin, 148-4.
Hammer: 1, Rory Devaney, 213-10. 2, Travis Martin, 212-11. 6, Corban Payne, 181-2. 10, Albert Beerbower, 145-9.
Javelin: 2, Ben Lammers, 184-9. 3, Chase Walter, 181-
