Big West Championships Day 1
Cal Poly Track & Field Descends Upon LBSU for Big West Championships
5/14/2026 6:00:00 PM | Track and Field
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The men will be eyeing a three-peat while the women will be seeking redemption when the Cal Poly track & field team descends upon on Long Beach State’s Jack Rose Track this Friday and Saturday to compete in the 2026 Big West Championships.
Action across the two-day meet featuring 11 women’s teams and 10 men’s teams begins at 10:30 a.m. Friday with the women’s hammer throw, with running events set to get underway at 1 p.m. on Day 1. Competition on the final day Saturday starts at 10 a.m. with the men’s javelin, with finals on the track scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
You can follow the live results for the meet HERE and a meet schedule can be found HERE. The meet is not being live streamed. Follow Cal Poly track and field on Instagram (@calpolytfxc) or X/Twitter (@CalPolyTrack_XC) for live updates throughout the meet.
The Cal Poly men enter the meet as the two-time defending Big West champions, claiming the crown last year at LBSU with 186 points, finishing 19 points in front of second place Cal State Fullerton. The Mustangs were led by an impressive 114 points from their distance squad and will lean heavily on a similar recipe this year in pursuit of more history. Cal Poly is seeking to become the first three-peat champion on the men’s side since CSUF in 2021-23 and just the sixth school in conference history to accomplish the feat.
Among the top returners for the men from last year’s championship squad are Aidan McCarthy (men’s 800 and 1,500 meters) and Michael Chambers (men’s 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000), who each won a pair of individual conference titles to score a combined 40 points for the Mustangs a season ago. McCarthy is seeking his fourth Big West title in the men’s 800, a feat no one else in conference history has accomplished. The three-time First Team All-American in the 800 enters the conference meet ranked second in the Big West this season in the 800 and third in the 1,500. Chambers only competed in one regular season meet this outdoor season, running a time of 14:17.71 in the 5,000 at the Aztec Distance Classic.
The Cal Poly men enter the meet with six conference leading marks — Conrad Bernstein in the men’s javelin, Chris Caudillo in the men’s 1,500, Tyler Daillak in the men’s 5,000, Ben Feyrer in the men’s pole vault, Bryce Kueker in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase and Travis Martin in the men’s hammer throw. Caudillo is fresh off breaking a 48-year-old conference record in the men’s 1,500 this past Saturday in Azusa in his outdoor season debut. The Clovis, Calif. native posted a blistering time of 3:35.13, the third fastest ran in the West Region this season and No. 8 in Division I. He shattered the school record in the process and it’s also the 25th fastest time in collegiate history.
After finishing second in the men’s hammer throw the last two years, Martin will be looking to secure all the glory in his final Big West Championship this weekend. The 2025 Second Team All-American and school record holder owns the fourth best mark recorded in Division I this season in the hammer (248 feet, 1 inch; 75.62 meters).
The Cal Poly women are looking for some redemption this weekend after finishing just 1.5 points behind first-place UC Irvine at last year’s championship to claim second. A pair of Big West individual champions from that team are back this year and looking to defend their crowns — Isabel Sanchez in the women’s 3,000 steeplechase and Lexi Evans in the women’s pole vault. Tatiana Cornejo, the back-to-back champion in the women’s 1,500, is redshirting this outdoor season and will not be competing at this year’s Big West Championship.
With a victory this weekend, Evans can become just the second three-time women’s pole vault champion in Big West history, joining former Mustang Brooke Tjerrild (2018, 2019, 2021). In March, Evans became the first Mustang in 26 years to earn All-American honors in the women’s indoor pole vault, tying for 12th at the NCAA Championships to secure Second Team honors. Evans currently owns the 22nd-best mark recorded in the West Region this season (14-3.25; 4.35m).
Evans is one of two Mustang women who own a top mark recorded in the conference this season, along with junior Kelli Gaffney in the 10,000. Gaffney finished third and fourth respectively in the 5,000 and 10,000 at last year’s conference meet, qualifying for NCAA West Prelims in the 10,000. She ran the third-fastest 10,000 in school history at the Bryan Clay Invitational earlier this season (33:49.78) and currently ranks No. 42 in the West Region.
Camrenne Genilla (women’s javelin), Grace Proudfoot (women’s high jump) and Astrid Teran (women’s pole vault) all rank second in the conference in their respective events entering the meet.
Following the Big West Championships, the Mustangs will wait to learn which athletes have qualified for the NCAA West Prelims hosted by the University of Arkansas on May 27-30 in Fayetteville. The field is comprised of the top 48 individual marks and top 24 relay times in the West Region.
Cal Poly Entries
WOMEN
100-meter (4 p.m. Friday Prelims; 3:26 p.m. Saturday Final): Ava Simos (Heat 5), Desie Armstrong (Heat 2), Cadence Roy-Williams (Heat 4).
200-meter (5:30 p.m. Friday Prelims; 4:21 p.m. Saturday Final): Ava Simos (Heat 3).
400-meter (3:30 p.m. Friday Prelims; 3:09 p.m. Saturday Final): Jordan Jackson (Heat 2).
800-meter (4:30 p.m. Friday Prelims; 3:43 p.m. Saturday Final): Ella Echsner (Heat 1), Elianah DeMange (Heat 3).
1,500-meter (2:20 p.m. Friday Prelims; 2:32 p.m. Saturday Final): Melisse Djomby Enyawe (Heat 2).
5,000-meter (4:48 p.m. Saturday Final): Nikki Bridges, Ashlyn Leath, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, Kelli Gaffney.
10,000-meter (6:30 p.m. Friday Final): Kelli Gaffney, Ashlyn Leath, Nikki Bridges, Isabel Sanchez, Sydney Sundgren.
100-meter hurdles (3 p.m. Friday Prelims; 2:52 p.m. Saturday Final): Kaira Burrage (Heat 3), Citina Nardi (Heat 3).
400-meter hurdles (5 p.m. Friday Prelims; 4:03 p.m. Saturday Final): Kalia Estes (Heat 3), Avery Adelman (Heat 3), Kaira Burrage (Heat 3).
3,000-meter steeplechase (1:20 p.m. Friday Final): Isabel Sanchez, Sydney Sundgren.
4x100-meter relay (2:10 p.m. Saturday Final): Cal Poly A (Section 2).
4x400-meter relay (5:21 p.m. Saturday Final): Cal Poly A (Section 2).
High jump (3:30 p.m. Friday Fina, Flight 1): Grace Proudfoot, Charli Kennedy, Melanie Castelli.
Pole vault (12:30 p.m. Friday Final, Flight 1): Lexi Evans, Astrid Teran, Grace Sloan.
Long jump (Noon Friday Final): Desie Armstrong (Flight 2), Tayhlore Hoagland (Flight 2), Cadence Roy-Williams (Flight 2).
Triple jump (3 p.m. Saturday Final): Grace Sloan (Flight 2).
Shot put (2:30 p.m. Friday Final): Taylor Hofland (Flight 2), Golda Demby (Flight 2), Isabella Rigby (Flight 1).
Discus (3:30 p.m. Saturday Final): Isabella Rigby.
Hammer throw (10:30 a.m. Friday Final): Golda Demby (Flight 2), Gracelyn Brown (Flight 2).
Javelin (Noon Saturday Final): Camrenne Genilla (Flight 2), Leala Willman (Flight 1), Natalie Porter (Flight 1).
MEN
200-meter (5:15 p.m. Friday Prelims; 4:13 p.m. Saturday Final): MacGregor TeSelle (Heat 3).
400-meter (3:15 p.m. Friday Prelims; 3:02 p.m. Saturday Final): Alexander Franco (Heat 2).
800-meter (4:15 p.m. Friday Prelims; 3:36 p.m. Saturday Final): Aidan McCarthy (Heat 2), Carson Smith (Heat 1), Miles Cook (Heat 3), Jeffrey Overgaard (Heat 1), Taj Clark (Heat 1).
1,500-meter (2 p.m. Friday Prelims; 2:22 p.m. Saturday Final): Chris Caudillo (Heat 2), Carson Smith (Heat 1), Aidan McCarthy (Heat 1).
5,000-meter (4:28 p.m. Saturday Final): Tyler Daillak, Liam Miller, Rory Catsimanes, Dheeraj Gurusamy, Michael Chambers, Eddie Sion, Devin Ibarra, JR Lesher, Ethan Miller, Chris Caudillo, Miles Cook, Ibzan Felix, Bryce Kueker.
10,000-meter (5:45 p.m. Saturday Final): Rory Catsimanes, Tyler Daillak, Devin Ibarra, JR Lesher, Ethan Miller, Liam Miller, Micah Sanchez, Eddie Sion.
400-meter hurdles (4:45 p.m. Friday Prelims; 3:53 p.m. Saturday Final): Vincent Atilano (Heat 1), Ben Kin Ho Tsang (Heat 1).
3,000-meter steeplechase (1 p.m. Friday Final): Bryce Kueker, Dheeraj Gurusamy, Ibzan Felix, Michael Chambers.
4x100-meter relay (2 p.m. Saturday Final): Cal Poly A (Section 1).
4x400-meter relay (5:11 p.m. Saturday Final): Cal Poly (Section 2).
Pole vault (12:30 p.m. Saturday Final, Flight 1): Ben Feyrer, Caleb King, Matthew McHale.
Shot put (4:30 p.m. Friday Final): Aiden Pastorian (Flight 2), Albert Beerbower (Flight 2).
Hammer throw (12:30 p.m. Friday Final): Travis Martin (Flight 2).
Javelin (10 a.m. Saturday Final, Flight 1): Conrad Bernstein, Lucas Scott, Colby Neron.
