NCAA West Preliminaries
Martin, Devaney Punch Tickets to Nationals in Hammer Throw
5/28/2025 11:00:00 PM | Track and Field
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — It was an historic day for the Cal Poly track and field program on Wednesday as both Travis Martin and Rory Devaney punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships in the men’s hammer throw at Texas A&M’s E.B. Cushing Stadium.
Eleven of the 13 individual entries for the Cal Poly men competed on the opening day of the NCAA West Prelims with a pair locking up tickets to nationals and two advancing to quarterfinals in events on the track.
After a multiple hour weather delay to start the day, Martin and Devaney were able to get the Mustangs off to a roaring start in the first event of the meet. In the men’s hammer throw, Martin and Devaney placed fifth (222 feet, 5 inches) and 10th (216 feet, 4 inches) respectively to secure berths to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 11-14 by finishing in the top 12 in the event.
With Martin and Devaney both qualifying for nationals, the Cal Poly men’s track and field program is set to have multiple athletes competing at the Division I NCAA Championships for just the fourth time in the team’s history and the first time since 1999. Martin and Devaney — who rank No. 1 and No. 2 in school history in the event — are set to become just the second and third athletes in program history to take part in the hammer throw at NCAAs.
Graduate student Chase Walter and redshirt junior Aidan McCarthy both advanced to quarterfinals in their respective events on the track and will fight for berths to nationals on Friday. First, Walter improved his second fastest time in school history in the men’s 400-meter, running a lifetime best of 46.04 seconds to take fourth in his heat and advance to the 400 quarterfinals on Friday based on time. His time was just .01 seconds off Pat Croft’s 1981 school record in the event and was the 13th fastest ran in the First Round. Walter races in the 400 quarterfinals at 4:50 p.m. PDT Friday with the top three finishers in each of the three heats along with the next three fastest times advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene.
Participating in his first West Prelims since capturing first in the 800 at the 2023 meet, McCarthy took care of business of Wednesday, cruising into the 800 quarterfinals. The 800 phenom grabbed second in his heat with a time of 1:47.94 to automatically qualify for the quarterfinals on Friday. His time was the eighth fastest ran in the First Round and he will have a chance to secure his second career trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Friday at 5:05 p.m. PDT. The top three finishers in each of the three heats along with the next three fastest times will qualify for nationals. Junior Lewis Westwood also took 43rd in the 800 First Round on Wednesday.
Making his first NCAA West Prelims appearance, Colby Neron finished just six places away from grabbing a ticket to nationals, taking 18th in the men’s javelin with a mark of 217 feet, 7 inches (66.32 meters). Freshman Ben Feyrer also had a strong showing in his West Prelims debut, tying for 26th in the pole vault (16-5.5).
Sophomore Chris Caudillo, senior Spencer Pickren and junior Carson Smith finished 30th (3:52.50), 32nd (3:53.94) and 43rd (3:57.66) respectively in the First Round of the 1,500, while Corban Payne earned 37th in the shot put (57-5) to round out the list of Mustangs that competed on Wednesday.
Action for the Cal Poly women at West Prelims gets underway on Thursday as two of the Mustangs’ four qualifiers on that side take center stage. Junior Lexi Evans competes for a berth to nationals at 3:30 p.m. PDT in the women’s pole vault, while sophomore Kelli Gaffney hits the track in the women’s 10,000 at 7:10 p.m. PDT. Live coverage on ESPN+ starts at 4 p.m. PDT Thursday.
Cal Poly Results
NCAA West Prelims Day 1
Men’s 400-meter First Round: 13, Chase Walter, 46.04 (q).
Men’s 800-meter First Round: 8, Aidan McCarthy, 1:47.94 (Q). 43, Lewis Westwood, 1:51.30.
Men’s 1,500-meter First Round: 30, Chris Caudillo, 3:52.50. 32, Spencer Pickren, 3:53.94. 43, Carson Smith, 3:57.66.
Men’s pole vault First Round: T26, Ben Feyrer, 16-5.5.
Men’s hammer throw First Round: 5, Travis Martin, 222-5. 10, Rory Devaney, 216-4.
Men’s shot put First Round: 37, Corban Payne, 57-5.
Men’s javelin First Round: 18, Colby Neron, 217-7.
