UW Invitational / Mile City
Evans, Easter Shatter School Records in Seattle
2/1/2026 3:00:00 PM | Track and Field
SEATTLE, Wash. — Highlighted by school-record breaking performances by Lexi Evans and Madison Easter and a pair of sub-four miles, the Cal Poly track and field team posted 17 new top-five marks in program history during the Mustangs’ second trip to the University of Washington this indoor season.
Cal Poly took part in the UW Invitational and Mile City on Friday and Saturday and had yet another outstanding showing inside Dempsey Indoor, a site that has become common for the Mustangs to make history in.
Over 30 Mustangs competed across the two days of action and a total of 24 personal bests were recorded — 17 by the Cal Poly women and seven by the men.
Evans had arguably the most impressive performance of the weekend during the invite section of the women’s pole vault. The San Diego native soared to new heights in the event, clearing an all-around lifetime best of 14 feet, 8.25 inches (4.48 meters). The mark is currently tied for the sixth best recorded in the NCAA this season, currently putting her in position to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville on March 13-14 which are made up of the top 12 individual marks in each event.
Evans obliterated the previous indoor school record in the event in the process, surpassing Brooke Tjerrild’s 2020 mark (13-9.25) by 11 inches. The three-time NCAA West Preliminaries qualifier outdoors added 3 inches to her all-conditions personal best in the event, and is now officially the school record holder in both the women’s indoor and outdoor pole vault.
Easter scorched the UW track on Friday, recording lifetime bests and top-five marks in the women’s 60 and 200 meters for the second straight meet. She shined in the 200, running an indoor personal best of 24.18 seconds to shatter Shelby Daniele’s 2024 school record (24.36). The performance allowed her to take first in the 200 for the second straight meet. She also matched her personal best of 7.52 seconds in the 60 that sits at No. 3 in school history, placing second.
Speaking of the women’s 60, Easter was one of four Mustangs that qualified for the final in the event, showcasing the depth of Cal Poly’s sprints group and the potential of the women’s 4x100 relay once the team reaches outdoor season. Desie Armstrong led the way, winning the event in a time of 7.49 seconds, equaling her lifetime best that ranks No. 2 in school history. Ava Simos moved into a tie with Daniele for No. 4 on Cal Poly’s all-time list with a time of 7.53 seconds to finish third and help Cal Poly complete the podium sweep. Tayhlore Hoagland ran the sixth-fastest time in school history (7.61 seconds) and grabbed fifth.
Simos also earned a third-place finish in the 200, moving up a spot to No. 3 all-time in the event with a time of 24.59 seconds.
Tatiana Cornejo and Aiden Pastorian recorded the two other event victories for the Mustangs. Cornejo ran a nearly 8-second lifetime best in the women’s mile to win the seeded section of the event during UW’s Mile City. Cornejo’s time of 4:38.53 was the fastest mile ran by a Mustang in 39 years and the second fastest in school history. Pastorian claimed the top spot in the men’s shot put for the second straight meet, improving his No. 2 mark in program history (55 feet, 6.5 inches). Albert Beerbower also improved his fourth-best mark in school history in the event (50 feet, 8.25 inches) to earn fifth.
On the men’s side, Chris Caudillo was the highlight of the meet as he became the seventh Mustang ever to run a sub-four-minute mile. The Clovis, Calif. native ran an over 6-second lifetime best of 3:56.05, the second-fastest time in school history and the 27th-best ran in the NCAA this season. His teammate, Spencer Pickren, also posted a sub-four time in the invite section of the men’s mile on Saturday, crossing the finish line in 3:59.3. He was less than three seconds off his PR, which now ranks third in school history (3:56.49).
Vincent Atilano and Lewis Westwood were responsible for the other two top-five marks in program history that were posted on the men’s side. Atilano crossed the line with the second-fastest indoor 400 time in school history (48.04 seconds) while Westwood ran the second-fastest mark all-time in the indoor 800 (1:49.62). They both secured fourth-place finishes in their respective events.
Elianah DeMange, Kalia Estes, Jordan Jackson and Avery Adelman helped the Mustang women post the second-fastest time indoors in program history in the women’s 4x400 relay, finishing third with a time of 3:44.78. It was the fastest indoor 4x400 relay time recorded by the Mustangs in 26 years.
DeMange and Adelman also both earned top-five times in program history in the women’s 400, running the No. 2 (55.76) and No. 4 (57.05) performances respectively.
Grace Proudfoot, an Oregon State graduate transfer, cracked the top marks list for the first time, recording a lifetime best of 5 feet, 8.75 inches in the women’s high jump to place third — No. 5 all-time indoors.
Kelli Gaffney (women’s 3,000) and Melody Nwagwu (women’s triple jump) both moved up a spot to No. 4 in school history in their respective events. Nwagwu leaped an indoor PR of 40 feet, 7 inches, to place second while Gaffney dropped an over 13-second PR in the 3,000.
Taylor Hofland improved her fifth-best mark in school history in the women’s shot put with an all-conditions personal best of 46 feet, 7.25 inches to capture second and round out the Mustangs’ that posted a top-five mark.
Cal Poly heads back to Dempsey Indoor for the final time this indoor season on Feb. 13-14 to take part in the Husky Classic.
Cal Poly Results
WOMEN
60-meter: 1, Desie Armstrong, 7.49. 2, Madison Easter, 7.52. 3, Ava Simos, 7.53. 5, Tayhlore Hoagland, 7.61.
200-meter: 1, Madison Easter, 24.18. 3, Ava Simos, 24.59. 25, Kalia Estes, 26.15.
400-meter: 7, Jordan Jackson, 55.61. 9, Elianah DeMange, 55.76. 16, Avery Adelman, 57.05.
Mile seeded: 1, Tatiana Cornejo, 4:38.53. 66, Mackenzie Hack, 4:58.62.
3,000-meter: 7, Kelli Gaffney, 9:20.05.
60-meter hurdles: 16, Kalia Estes, 9.16.
4x400-meter relay: 3, Cal Poly (Elianah DeMange, Kalia Estes, Jordan Jackson, Avery Adelman), 3:44.78.
High jump: 3, Grace Proudfoot, 5-8.75 (1.75m). 4, Melanie Castelli, 5-7 (1.70m).
Pole vault invite: 2, Lexi Evans, 14-8.25 (4.48m). 7, Astrid Teran, 12-8.75 (3.88m).
Long jump: 5, Desie Armstrong, 18-1.75 (5.53m). 7, Melody Nwagwu, 17-10.75 (5.45m). 14, Tayhlore Hoagland, 17-6 (5.33m).
Triple jump invite: 2, Melody Nwagwu, 40-7 (12.37m).
Shot put: 2, Taylor Hofland, 46-7.25 (14.20m). 9, Isabella Rigby, 41-10.75 (12.77m). 11, Golda Demby, 40-10.25 (12.45m).
MEN
400-meter: 4, Vincent Atilano, 48.04. 10, Alexander Franco, 48.78.
800-meter: 4, Lewis Westwood, 1:49.62. 33, Mateo Malko-Allen, 1:57.05.
Mile seeded: 6, Micah Grossman, 4:02.57. 11, Miles Cook, 4:03.76.
Mile invite: 8, Chris Caudillo, 3:56.05. 20, Spencer Pickren, 3:59.33.
3,000-meter: 42, Ibzan Felix, 8:39.15.
Pole vault invite: 8, Ben Feyrer, 16-2.75 (4.95m).
Shot put: 1, Aiden Pastorian, 55-6.5 (16.93m). 5, Albert Beerbower, 50-8.25 (15.45m).
