Big West Championships
Cal Poly Men Repeat as Big West Champions, Women Place Second
5/18/2025 1:01:00 PM | Track and Field
LONG BEACH, Calif. — For the second time in program history, the Cal Poly men’s track and field team raised the Big West Championship trophy on Saturday at Long Beach State’s Jack Rose Track.
Led by an astonishing 114 points from their distance squad, the Mustang men fended off Cal State Fullerton to claim their second straight Big West title. The women had a stellar showing as well, placing second as a team and finishing just a mere 1.5 points shy of defending their Big West crown. The Cal Poly women ended with 149 team points, while UC Irvine finished with 150 to claim its first Big West title.
During the two-day Big West Championship meet, Cal Poly won nine individual conference titles as redshirt juniors Aidan McCarthy (men’s 800 and 1,500 meters) and Michael Chambers (men’s 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000) each won two, while redshirt seniors Colton Swinth (men’s 10,000) and Schuyler Gooley (women’s 5,000), redshirt junior Isabel Sanchez (women’s 3,000 steeplechase), and juniors Tatiana Cornejo (women’s 1,500) and Lexi Evans (women’s pole vault) all won one each. The nine Big West individual champions are tied for the most ever by the team since the school joined the conference in 1996-1997 and the most by the Mustangs since 2007.
Overall, the Mustangs walked away with 29 All-Big West honorees from the meet by having countless individuals place in the top three in their respective events. Nine top-10 marks in school history were also recorded.
Below is a list of all the incredible milestones, achievements, performances and history made by the Mustang track and field program at this year’s Big West Championship meet:
- The Cal Poly men finished with 186 team points to claim the Big West Championship, 19 points in front of second place Cal State Fullerton. The 186 points are the most by the Big West Champion on the men’s side since the Titans in 2022 (2000) and the Mustangs are the first repeat men’s champion since Cal State Fullerton three-peated from 2021-23.
- The Cal Poly women finished with 18.25 more points than they did in last year’s Big West Championship victory (130.75). In fact, the 149 team points would have won seven out of the last eight Big West Championships.
- Aidan McCarthy and Michael Chambers accounted for 40 team points for the men between the two of them thanks to each winning a pair of conference titles.
- McCarthy achieved countless milestones during his 800-1,500 double this weekend. First, McCarthy broke the Big West meet record in the men’s 1,500-meter set by former Mustang Phillip Reid in 2007 by over three seconds with a time of 3:39.35 to capture his first conference title in the event. Then in the 800, he shattered a Jack Rose Track facility record (1:46.62) en route to claiming his third career Big West title in the event, joining Mark Schilling (1973-77) as the only athletes in conference history to win three championships in the event. The triumph in the 800 allowed McCarthy to become just the fifth Big West athlete ever to sweep the men’s 800 and 1,500. It was McCarthy’s first Big West Championship meet since 2023 after missing the 2024 outdoor season due to injury.
- Chambers had quite the weekend as well. First on Friday, he ran a nearly seven-second lifetime best en route (8:42.35) to capturing the Big West title in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase, becoming the sixth Cal Poly athlete ever to claim a title in the event and the first since 2023. He was just .24 seconds off the Big West meet record set by Cal Poly’s Ben Bruce in 2005 (8:42.11) and his time currently ranks No. 5 in school history and No. 26 in the West Region this season. Then on Saturday, Chambers completed a remarkable double himself, using a kick in the final 150 meters to pass teammate Chris Caudillo and capture the Big West title in the men’s 5,000. He became the first athlete since Cal Poly’s Nick Woolf in 2016 to sweep the Big West titles in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000. This was Chambers’ second Big West Championship appearance and first time earning All-Big West honors on the track.
- For the second straight year, the Cal Poly men swept the podiums in the men’s 1,500 and 5,000, finishing first through fourth in both.
- The Cal Poly men scored 60 combined points in the men’s 1,500 and 5,000, and between the 800, 1,500, 5,000, 10,000 and steeplechase, the Mustang distance squad racked up 114 total points.
- Isabel Sanchez claimed the first individual conference title of the weekend for the Mustangs, winning the women’s 3,000 steeplechase on Friday with a time of 10:41.52 to become Cal Poly’s third Big West champion in the event and first since 2014. Later that day, she placed fifth in the 10,000 with a lifetime best (35:49.29), scoring 14 points for the Cal Poly women between the two events.
- Colton Swinth claimed the final of three Big West titles for the Mustangs on the opening day of the meet Friday, winning the men’s 10,000 with a lifetime best of 29:20.69, the 10th fastest time in school history. It was his second Big West title in the event and first since 2023, allowing him to become just the second Mustang in program history to win multiple Big West 10,000 titles and the first since Swarnjit Boyal did in 2017 and 2018. Swinth also took seventh in the 5,000 Saturday, scoring a total of 12 team points.
- Lexi Evans captured her second straight Big West title in the women’s pole vault Saturday, becoming the fourth back-to-back champ in conference history and the second in Cal Poly history, joining Brooke Tjerrild who won three straight. Evans cleared 14 feet to win it, just 1.25 inches off the Big West meet record.
- Tatiana Cornejo, the 2024 Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, defended her Big West title in the women’s 1,500, winning with a time of 4:36.74. She is the first repeat Big West champion in the women’s 1,500 since 2017-2018 and the first in Cal Poly history. Cornejo also took third in the 800 (2:09.07), scoring a total of 16 team points for the Mustangs. She is now a five-time All-Big West honoree in track and field for the Mustangs.
- 2024 Big West individual women’s cross country champion Schuyler Gooley rose to the occasion and captured the women’s 5,000 title on Saturday to keep the Mustangs in the hunt for the team title during the final few events of the meet. She won with a time of 16:27.91 to become the first Mustang since 2019 to win a Big West title in the event. Gooley also finished third in the 10,000 with a personal best (35:36.96) to score a total of 16 team points for the Mustangs. This was Gooley’s first time competing on the track outdoors since the 2023 Bryan Clay Invitational and her first Big West Track & Field Championship appearance since taking part in the 2021 meet as a freshman.
- The Cal Poly women’s distance crew scored a total of 96 points between the 800, 1,500, 3,000 steeplechase, 5,000 and 10,000, including 53 between the 5,000 and 10,000.
- Cal Poly swept the podium in the women’s 5,000 as Gooley, Hana Catsimanes and Kelli Gaffney finished first, second and third respectively.
- Hana Catsimanes placed second in both the 5,000 and 10,000, scoring 16 total team points. She finishers her career as a three-time All-Big West honoree in track.
- SPECIAL MOMENT: Catsimanes, Gooley and Gaffney crossed the finish line three-wide together in the women’s 10,000 Friday night, placing second (35:36.93), third (35:36.96) and fourth (35:36.98) respectively with nearly the exact same time.
- Gaffney placed third in the 5,000 to earn All-Big West honors for the first time and fourth in the 10,000 to score 11 team points.
- Junior Carson Smith secured a pair of podium finishes for the men. He took second in the men’s 1,500 for the second straight year (3:39.61), surpassing the previous meet record in the process, and finished third in the 800 to score a total of 14 team points.
- Sophomore Chris Caudillo also racked up 14 team points for the men, capturing second in the 5,000 (14:35.38) and third in the 1,500 (3:41.50) for the second consecutive year. He flew past the previous meet record in the 1,500 as well and is now a three-time All-Big West honoree in track.
- In the first event of the meet Friday morning, Travis Martin and Rory Devaney placed second and third respectively in the men’s hammer throw and gave defending champion and three-time All-American Trey Knight everything he could handle. Both Martin and Devaney surpassed the 70-meter mark for the first time in their careers at the meet.
- Martin shattered Devaney’s school record in the event on his second attempt, recording a lifetime best of 232 feet, 3 inches (70.80 meters). It’s the second straight year Martin has placed third in the hammer.
- Devaney also surpassed his previous school record on his third attempt of the day, recording a PR of 230-9 (70.33 meters) to capture third in the event for the third consecutive year. Devaney also took fourth in the discus, scoring a total of 11 points.
- Bryce Kueker scored 13 team points for the Cal Poly men. He placed second in the 3,000 steeplechase Friday to secure All-Big West honors in the event for the second straight year, and grabbed fourth in the 5,000.
- Cadence Roy-Williams secured second in the women’s long jump with a significant lifetime best of 19 feet, 11 inches to earn All-Big West honors for the first time. The mark moved her up to No. 4 in program history and she also ran the 10th fastest 100-meter time in school history at the meet, placing ninth in the final (11.87 seconds).
- Senior Melody Nwagwu earned All-Big West honors in the women’s triple jump for the third time in her career, placing second (41-9.75).
- Colby Neron grabbed All-Big West honors for the first time, finishing second in the men’s javelin (224-3).
- Freshman Vincent Atilano captured third in the men’s 400 hurdles with a lifetime best of 51.88 seconds, the 10th-fastest time in school history.
- In his fourth Big West Championship, Corban Payne earned All-Big West honors for the first time by placing third in the men’s shot put (59-4).
- Senior Spencer Pickren secured All-Big West honors for the second time in his career by finishing third in the men’s 5,000. He also took fourth in the 1,500 to score a total of 11 points.
- Sophomore Jordan Jackson improved her fourth-fastest women’s 400 time in school history, running a lifetime best of 53.87 seconds in the final to place fourth. It’s the fastest time by a Mustang in 24 years.
- Graduate student Anthony Guerra (men’s 10,000), senior Anna Grexton (women’s hammer throw), juniors Chase Kubinski (women’s javelin) and MacGregor TeSelle (men’s 200), sophomore Sydney Sundgren (women’s 3,000 steeplechase), and freshman Melisse Djomby Enyawe (women’s 1,500) all earned fourth-place finishes in their respective events.
- Freshman Ava Simos ran a PR of 11.86 seconds in the women’s 100 to finish eighth, tied with Janet Yarbrough for the eighth-fastest time in school history.
UP NEXT: The Mustangs will now wait to learn which athletes have qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries hosted by Texas A&M University on May 28-31 in College Station. The full field, comprised of the top 48 individual marks and top 24 relay times in the West Region, will be announced Thursday. Cal Poly is expecting to break a program record for West Prelims qualifiers.
Big West Track & Field Championships
Cal Poly Final Results
WOMEN
Team Scores: 1, UC Irvine, 150.5. 2, Cal Poly, 149. 3, Long Beach State, 109.5. 4, Hawai’i, 76.5. 5, UC San Diego, 75.5. 6, Cal State Fullerton, 58. 7, UC Davis, 52. 8, UC Riverside, 47. 8, CSUN, 44. 10, UC Santa Barbara, 38. 11, Cal State Bakersfield, 18.
100-meter: 8, Ava Simos, 11.86. 9, Cadence Roy-Williams, 11.87. 13, Desie Armstrong, 11.87. 14, Ciella Seals, 11.87. 15, Madison Easter, 11.91.
200-meter: 12, Ava Simos, 24.26. 13, Madison Easter, 24.33.
400-meter: 4, Jordan Jackson, 53.87.
800-meter: 3, Tatiana Cornejo, 2:09.07. 5, Elianah DeMange, 2:10.01.
1,500-meter: 1, Tatiana Cornejo, 4:36.74. 4, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 4:39.68.
5,000-meter: 1, Schuyler Gooley, 16:27.91. 2, Hana Catsimanes, 16:33.94. 3, Kelli Gaffney, 16:41.82. 7, Carissa Buchholz, 17:00.23. 8, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 17:01.28. 12, Renae Searls, 17:15.05. 17, Ashlyn Leath, 17:24.50. 21, Ellie Baxter, 17:30.85.
10,000-meter: 2, Hana Catsimanes, 35:36.93. 3, Schuyler Gooley, 35:36.96. 4, Kelli Gaffney, 35:36.98. 5, Isabel Sanchez, 35:49.29. 6, Carissa Buchholz, 35:49.79. 15, Ellie Baxter, 36:34.17. 16, Ashlyn Leath, 36:37.62.
400-meter hurdles: 10, Kalia Estes, 1:02.15. 12, Avery Adelman, 1:03.21.
3,000-meter steeplechase: 1, Isabel Sanchez, 10:41.52. 4, Sydney Sundgren, 10:44.52. 6, Renae Searls, 10:52.36.
4x100-meter relay: 4, Cal Poly (Desie Armstrong, Madison Easter, Ciella Seals, Cadence Roy-Williams), 45.41.
4x400-meter relay: 7, Cal Poly (Avery Adelman, Jordan Jackson, Elianah DeMange, Kalia Estes), 3:44.02.
High jump: 9, Melanie Castelli, 5-6. 11, Maia Garcia, 5-6. 17, Lariel Henley, 5-4.25. 19, Chase Kubinski, 5-2.25.
Pole vault: 1, Lexi Evans, 14-0. 9, Logan Hays, 12-2.5.
Long jump: 2, Cadence Roy-Williams, 19-11. 13, Tayhlore Hoagland, 18-11.75. 17, Melody Nwagwu, 18-9. 28, Desie Armstrong, 17-7.
Triple jump: 2, Melody Nwagwu, 41-9.75.
Shot put: 10, Taylor Hofland, 44-1.5.
Discus: 18, Taylor Hofland, 129-11.
Hammer: 4, Anna Grexton, 180-8.
Javelin: 4, Chase Kubinski, 143-6. 5, Leala Willman, 141-8. 10, Avery Karner, 112-1.
MEN
Team Scores: 1, Cal Poly, 186. 2, Cal State Fullerton, 167. 3, Long Beach State, 127. 4, UC Santa Barbara, 104. 5, UC Irvine, 69. 6, CSUN, 62. 7, UC San Diego, 36. 8, UC Riverside, 32. 9, UC Davis, 26. 10, Cal State Bakersfield, 9.
200-meter: 4, MacGregor TeSelle, 20.86. 23, Ryan Teeple, 21.46.
400-meter: 3, Chase Walter, 47.04. 6, Alexander Franco, 47.70.
800-meter: 1, Aidan McCarthy, 1:46.62. 3, Carson Smith, 1:48.82. 9, Lewis Westwood, 1:51.33. 10, Jeffrey Overgaard, 1:51.80.
1,500-meter: 1, Aidan McCarthy, 3:39.35. 2, Carson Smith, 3:39.61. 3, Chris Caudillo, 3:41.50. 4, Spencer Pickren, 3:42.49. 15, Mateo Malko-Allen, 3:51.36. 21, Ibzan Felix, 3:58.14.
5,000-meter: 1, Michael Chambers, 14:34.76. 2, Chris Caudillo, 14:35.38. 3, Spencer Pickren, 14:38.37. 4, Bryce Kueker, 14:40.21. 7, Colton Swinth, 14:42.44. 9, Dheeraj Gurusamy, 14:44.72. 16, Rory Catsimanes, 14:55.31. 19, Eddie Sion, 14:56.66.
10,000-meter: 1, Colton Swinth, 29:20.69. 4, Anthony Guerra, 29:42.51. 7, Rory Catsimanes, 30:03.67. 9, Aiden Aldana, 30:18.42. 11, Micah Sanchez, 30:35.73.
400-meter hurdles: 3, Vincent Atilano, 51.88.
3,000-meter steeplechase: 1, Michael Chambers, 8:42.35. 2, Bryce Kueker, 8:47.62. 6, Dheeraj Gurusamy, 8:55.57.
4x100-meter relay: 5, Cal Poly, (Noah Bustos, MacGregor TeSelle, Vincent Atilano, Ryan Teeple), 40.32.
High jump: 6, Nathan Fifer, 6-7.
Pole vault: 2, Ben Feyrer, 17-0.75.
Long jump: 5, Noah Bustos, 24-1.75.
Shot put: 3, Corban Payne, 59-4. 9, Albert Beerbower, 55-7.
Discus: 4, Rory Devaney, 180-4. 14, Travis Martin, 150-2.
Hammer: 2, Travis Martin, 232-3. 3, Rory Devaney, 230-9.
Javelin: 2, Colby Neron, 224-3. 11, Ben Lammers, 172-10.
