Men's 4x400 Relay Breaks School Record on Final Day of Franson Last Chance Invite
5/11/2025 4:00:00 PM | Track and Field
AZUSA, Calif. — A 46-year-old school record was broken and three top-6 times in program history were ran in the men’s 1,500-meter as the Cal Poly track and field team wrapped up regular season action on Saturday with an strong showing on the final day of the Franson Last Chance Invite at Cougar Athletic Stadium.
Eight Cal Poly distance runners along with the men’s 4x400 relay competed on day two of the meet with seven Mustangs running lifetime bests in the 1,500-meter. But the most impressive performance came courtesy of four of Cal Poly’s best sprinters.
A record the Mustangs have been chasing since the start of last season finally fell Saturday as freshman Vincent Atilano, graduate student Chase Walter, sophomore Alexander Franco and junior MacGregor TeSelle helped Cal Poly shatter a 46-year-old school record in the men’s 4x400 relay with a blistering time of 3:06.72. The quartet surpassed the previous school record of 3:07.1 set in 1979 when the Mustangs were in Division II en route to claiming a first-place finish at the meet.
The time is currently the fastest ran in the Big West this season and the 15th best by a team in the Division I West Region this spring, putting the Mustangs 4x400 relay in position to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminaries. Cal Poly has been on the cusp of breaking the school record over the last two seasons, posting three of the fastest times in program history, including running the third fastest time ever earlier this season at the Stanford Invitational (3:09.06) with the same crew that made history on Saturday. Over the last two seasons, Cal Poly has posted four of the six fastest 4x400 times in school history.
In the final section of the men’s 1,500 Saturday night, Cal Poly had an historic showing as sophomore Chris Caudillo, junior Carson Smith and senior Spencer Pickren posted some of the fastest times in school history. Caudillo led the way, passing Smith in the final 100 meters to cross the finish line in first place with a blistering time of 3:37.94, the third fastest in school history. It was nearly a 3.5-second personal best for Caudillo and the time ranks No. 14 in the West Region and No. 27 in Division I this season.
Smith was right on Caudillo’s heels in second place, running a 2.5-second lifetime best of 3:38.76 — the fourth fastest time in school history. The time ranks No. 24 in the West Region and No. 43 in Division I this outdoor season. With the performance, Smith currently holds NCAA West Preliminary qualifying times in both the men’s 800 and 1,500. Pickren moved up to No. 6 in school history in the 1,500 with a PR of 3:41.16, taking fourth overall at the meet. In Section 11 of the 1,500, freshman Ibzan Felix (3:46.71) and sophomore Mateo Malko-Allen (3:48.15) both ran PRs as well.
The two women that hit the track for the Mustangs on Saturday — freshman Melisse Djomby Enyawe and sophomore Sydney Sundgren — both ran PRs in the 1,500, posting times of 4:27.41 and 4:30.82 respectively.
The showing by Cal Poly on Saturday came a day after Aidan McCarthy ran the fourth-fastest 800 time in the NCAA this outdoor season at the meet. Running his first outdoor 800 since the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships, McCarthy put the rest of the country on notice, running an outdoor lifetime best of 1:45.53, the fastest time in the West Region this season and No. 4 in the NCAA in 2025. The Pleasanton, Calif. native crossed the finish line a full second and a half in front of his next closest competitor.
McCarthy’s performance allowed him to break his own outdoor 800 school record by .73 seconds, and he was just .34 seconds off his all-conditions personal best of 1:45.19 — the fastest indoor 800 ran by an American in collegiate history. Junior Lewis Westwood also had a stellar showing in the 800 Friday night, running an over 2.6-second lifetime best of 1:47.97 — the fourth fastest time in school history.
In total, 10 of the 11 Mustang distance runners that took part in the meet recorded a lifetime best.
Cal Poly will now gear up to take part in the Big West Championship meet this coming Friday and Saturday at Long Beach State’s Jack Rose Track. Last year, the Mustangs became the first school in 14 years to sweep the men’s and women’s Big West titles.
Franson Last Chance Invite Full Cal Poly Results
WOMEN
800-meter: 44, Ella Echsner, 2:23.66.
1,500-meter: 12, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 4:27.41. 17, Sydney Sundgren, 4:30.82.
MEN
800-meter: 1, Aidan McCarthy, 1:45.53. 6, Lewis Westwood, 1:47.97. 22, Jeffrey Overgaard, 1:50.31.
1,500-meter: 1, Chris Caudillo, 3:37.94. 2, Carson Smith, 3:38.76. 4, Spencer Pickren, 3:41.16. 18, Ibzan Felix, 3:46.71. 24, Mateo Malko-Allen, 3:48.15. 36, Lewis Westwood, 3:50.98.
4x400-meter relay: 1, Cal Poly (Vincent Atilano, Chase Walter, Alexander Franco, MacGregor TeSelle), 3:06.72.
