Gaucho Twilight
Mustangs Sweep Team, Individual Titles at Gaucho Twilight
9/19/2025 10:30:00 PM | Cross Country
LOMPOC, Calif. — The Cal Poly cross country program opened its 2025 season with a dominant showing at the Gaucho Twilight on Friday night, sweeping the men’s and women’s team and individual titles.
Battling competition from conference foes UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Bakersfield and a pair of junior colleges, the three-time defending Big West men’s and women’s team champions showcased their might at The Mission Club in Lompoc, Calif.
The Cal Poly women rolled to a decisive 28-point victory over second-place UCSB, while the men edged out the host Gauchos 25-34 to claim a first-place finish.
Between the two genders, a total of 18 runners competed for Cal Poly and four ran unattached.
The Mustang women left no doubt, sweeping the top three places in the 6K race and having seven runners finish in the top 10 to end the day with an impressive 17 points, 2 points away from a perfect score of 15.
Junior Kelli Gaffney set the tone, crossing the finish line in 21:14.7 to capture the individual title. Sophomore Renae Searls was right behind her in second place with a time of 21:20.6, while fellow sophomore Nikki Bridges took third (21:26.2).
Sophomore Melisse Djomby-Enyawe secured fifth (21:39.7), sophomore Ashlyn Leath sixth (21:45.1), sophomore Ella Echsner seventh (22:01.4) and redshirt sophomore Lianna Guerra ninth (22:19.8) to round out the top seven finishers for the Mustangs.
The Cal Poly men showcased their depth as three runners finished in the top six, while all three Mustang freshmen that ran unattached finished in the top seven.
Running unattached, freshman Liam Miller earned a thrilling victory over teammate Dheeraj Gurusamy by just 0.1 seconds to secure first in the men’s 8K race with a time of 24:22.5. Redshirt sophomore Micah Sanchez crossed the finish line in fourth place (24:38.4), while redshirt junior Carson Smith secured sixth (24:51.4) to round out the top 10 finishers for the Cal Poly men. Also while running unattached, sophomore Devin Ibarra took home a fifth-place finish (24:44.0) and freshman Tyler Daillak snagged fifth (24:59.1).
Redshirt freshman Eddie Sion captured 11th (25:20.6), junior Tyler Downs 12th (25:26.5), redshirt freshman Micah Grossman 13th (25:26.6) and redshirt junior Lewis Westwood 14th (25:33.5).
Cal Poly will look to build off this performance when the Mustangs compete in the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational hosted by Loyola University Chicago next Friday, Oct. 3.
Gaucho Twilight
Cal Poly Results
MEN
TEAM SCORES — 1, Cal Poly, 25. 2, UC Santa Barbara, 34. 3, Cal Poly Distance Club, 104. 4, Cuesta, 111. 5, Allan Hancock, 119.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — 2, Dheeraj Gurusamy, 24:22.6. 4, Micah Sanchez, 24:38.4. 6, Carson Smith, 24:51.4. 11, Eddie Sion, 25:20.6. 12, Tyler Downs, 25:26.5. 13, Micah Grossman, 25:26.6. 14, Lewis Westwood, 25:33.5. 24, Ibzan Felix, 26:47.1.
UNATTACHED — 1, Liam Miller, 24:22.5. 5, Devin Ibarra, 24:44.0. 7, Tyler Daillak, 24:59.1.
WOMEN
TEAM SCORES — 1, Cal Poly, 17. 2, UC Santa Barbara, 45. 3, Cal State Bakersfield, 94. 4, Allan Hancock, 102.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — 1, Kelli Gaffney, 21:14.7. 2, Renae Searls, 21:20.6. 3, Nikki Bridges, 21:26.2. 5, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 21:39.7. 6, Ashlyn Leath, 21:45.1. 7, Ella Echsner, 22:01.4. 9, Lianna Guerra, 22:19.8. 11, Nina St. John, 22:30.4. 20, Sydney Sundgren, 23:06.2. 21, Lexi Conley, 23:06.7.
UNATTACHED — 15, Mackenzie Hack, 22:37.8.
