Big West Championships Day 1
Cal Poly Men's Track & Field Captures 3rd Straight Big West Title
5/17/2026 10:00:00 AM | Track and Field
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Propelled by a dominant showing by its distance squad, the Cal Poly men’s track and field team captured its third straight Big West Championship on Saturday at Long Beach State’s Jack Rose Track, while the women’s team secured a top-three finish for the fourth straight year.
The Mustang men ran away with the team title, finishing an incredible 49.5 points in front of second-place Cal State Fullerton with 201.5 points — the most by the Big West Champion under the current 10-team conference championship format. It’s also the fourth time since Cal Poly joined the Big West during the 1996-97 season that a team on the men’s side has scored 200 or more points at the conference meet. Cal Poly is 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.
The championship victory was spearheaded by an impressive 141 points from the distance squad across the men’s 800-meter, 1,500, 5,000, 10,000 and 3,000 steeplechase. The Cal Poly men swept the podium in four events — the 1,500, 5,000, 10,000 and steeplechase — scoring 116 points across those events alone to lead the Mustangs to their third Big West title in program history.
On the women’s side, the Mustangs secured a third-place finish with 105 points, finishing behind UC Irvine (187.5) and Cal State Fullerton (126). It’s the fourth consecutive season Cal Poly has placed in the top three in the women’s team standings, taking third in 2023, winning it all in 2024 for just the second time in program history and securing second last year while finishing just 1.5 points behind first-place UC Irvine.
Across the two-day Big West Championship meet that started Friday, Cal Poly captured 10 Big West individual titles between the men’s and women’s teams — the most in a season in program history. Conrad Bernstein (men’s javelin), Rory Catsimanes (men’s 10,000), Tyler Daillak (men’s 5,000), Lexi Evans (women’s pole vault), Ben Feyrer (men’s pole vault), Kelli Gaffney (women’s 10,000), Bryce Kueker (men’s 3,000 steeplechase), Travis Martin (men’s hammer throw), Aidan McCarthy (men’s 800) and Carson Smith (men’s 1,500) all won conference titles.
Overall, the Mustangs walked away with 28 All-Big West honorees from the meet by having countless individuals place in the top three in their respective events.
Below is a list of all the incredible milestones and historic performances achieved by the Mustang track and field program at this year’s Big West Championship meet:
MEN
- The 201.5 team points scored by the Mustangs are the most overall by a men’s team at the Big West Championships since Long Beach State won with 218.5 points in 2014.
- Across the five distance events (the men’s 800, 1,500, 5,000, 10,000 and steeple), Cal Poly scored 141 points out of a possible 195.
- A program record eight Mustangs won individual titles — Conrad Bernstein (men’s javelin), Rory Catsimanes (men’s 10,000), Tyler Daillak (men’s 5,000), Ben Feyrer (men’s pole vault), Bryce Kueker (men’s 3,000 steeplechase), Travis Martin (men’s hammer throw), Aidan McCarthy (men’s 800) and Carson Smith (men’s 1,500).
- Cal Poly claimed the individual title in all five distance events for the second straight year
- In his final Big West meet, three-time All-American Aidan McCarthy scored 18 team points for the Mustangs, placing second in the men’s 1,500 and winning the 800 (1:50.76) for the fourth time to become the first four-time 800 champion in Big West history and the third Mustang in program history to win four Big West titles in the same event, joining Kaaron Conwright (men’s 100, 1997-2000) and Stephanie Brown Trafton (women’s shot put, 1999, 2001-03). McCarthy is now a six-time All-Big West honoree on the track.
- Travis Martin became the first Mustang to win a Big West title in the men’s hammer throw, winning with a mark of 237 feet, 5 inches (72.36 meters). He is now a three-time All-Big West honoree in the event, placing second in both 2024 and 2025.
- After placing second in the 1,500 each of the last two years, Carson Smith finally claimed all the glory to become the 11th different Mustang to win a Big West title in the event. He also took second in the 800, scoring 18 total points and finishing his Cal Poly career as a five-time All-Big West honoree.
- Bryce Kueker became the seventh athlete in school history to win a Big West championship in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase, shattering a 21-year-old conference meet record in the process with a time of 8:39.21. The record was previously held by former Mustang Ben Bruce. Kueker also finished seventh in the 5,000, contributing 12 points to the Mustangs’ victory.
- True freshman Tyler Daillak shined, winning the men’s 5,000 on Saturday (14:14.74) and placing second in the men’s 10,000 on Friday (31:02.56) to score a combined 18 points. It’s the third straight year a Mustang has won the event and the 15th time overall.
- Conrad Bernstein, a transfer from Long Beach State, captured the conference title in the men’s javelin on his old stomping grounds, winning the event with a mark of 226 feet, 11 inches (69.17 meters). He is the third Mustang ever to capture a Big West title in the event and the first since All-American Aris Borjas went back-to-back in 2006-07. Colby Neron also took fourth in the event to help Cal Poly score 15 points in the javelin.
- Sophomore Ben Feyrer won the Big West title in the men’s pole vault, clearing 17 feet, 6.25 inches (5.34 meters) to become the seventh Mustang to win a title in the event and the first since Mathis Bresko went back-to-back in 2022-23. Last year as a true freshman, Feyrer took second in the event.
- Caleb King took third in the men’s pole vault and true freshman Matthew McHale tied for seventh to help Cal Poly score 17.5 points in the event.
- Rory Catsimanes won the men’s 10,000 (31:02.54), allowing a Mustang to capture the Big West title in the event for the fourth straight year and the 13th time overall.
- Dheeraj Gurusamy scored 14 team points for the Mustangs, finishing second in the 5,000 and third in the 3,000 steeplechase. His time of 8:47.60 in the steeplechase allowed him to improve his eighth-fastest time in school history by .06 seconds.
- Chris Caudillo finished third in both the 1,500 and 5,000, scoring 12 team points. He is now a five-time All-Big West honoree.
- True freshman Liam Miller captured third in the 10,000 and took fourth in the 5,000 to score 11 points for the Mustangs.
- Sophomore Vincent Atilano captured third in the men’s 400 hurdles for the second straight year, posting his second fastest time of all time (50.67 seconds) in the final.
- The Mustangs claimed 35 out of a possible 39 points in the 5,000 on Saturday to seal their Big West victory, finishing first, second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth respectively in the event.
- The Cal Poly men scored 35 points in the 5,000, 33 in the 10,000, 25 in the 800 and 24 in both the 1,500 and 3,000 steeplechase.
WOMEN
- Lexi Evans won her third straight Big West title in the women’s pole vault (14 feet, 4 inches; 4.37 meters) to become the second three-time Big West champion in the event, joining former Mustang Brooke Tjerrild. The 2026 Indoor Second Team All-American broke the Big West meet record in the event in the process.
- The Mustangs scored an impressive 33 points in the women’s 10,000 on Friday night as Kelli Gaffney, Nikki Bridges, Ashlyn Leath, Sydney Sundgren and Isabel Sanchez finished first through fifth in the event.
- Gaffney won the women’s 10,000 in 37:04.66 to become just the fourth Big West champion in program history in the event and the first since Miranda Daschian in 2019. She also placed second in the 5,000 on Saturday in 16:15.11, the 10th-fastest time in school history. She scored 18 points for the Mustangs during the meet and is now a three-time All-Big West honoree on the track.
- Bridges, a redshirt freshman, earned second in the 10,000 and third in the 5,000 to score 14 points.
- Ashlyn Leath secured All-Big West honors for the first time by placing third in the 10,000.
- True freshman Charli Kennedy matched her lifetime best (5 feet, 8.75 inches; 1.75 meters) in the women’s high jump to place third and earn All-Big West honors.
- In her first Big West meet, redshirt junior Camrenne Genilla captured third in the women’s javelin (152 feet, 1 inch; 46.35 meters) to grab All-Big West praise.
- Junior Taylor Hofland earned a podium finish in the women’s shot put, finishing third (152 feet, 1 inch; 46.35 meters).
- Freshman Golda Demby improved her sixth-best mark in school history in the women’s shot put with a lifetime best of 48 feet, 4.5 inches (14.74 meters) to finish fourth at the meet.
- Isabel Sanchez scored 9 points for the Mustangs, taking fourth in the 3,000 steeplechase and fifth in the 10,000.
- Ella Echsner took fourth in the 800 and junior Melanie Castelli tied for fourth in the high jump.
UP NEXT: The Mustangs will now wait to learn which athletes have qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries hosted by the University of Arkansas on May 27-30 at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville. The full field, comprised of the top 48 individual marks and top 24 relay times in the West Region, will be announced Thursday. Currently, 18 Mustangs own top 48 marks recorded in the West Region this season.
Big West Track & Field Championships
Cal Poly Results
MEN
Team Scores: 1, Cal Poly, 201.5. 2, Cal State Fullerton, 152. 3, Long Beach State, 114. 4, UC Irvine, 84.5. 5, UC San Diego, 77.5. 6, UC Santa Barbara, 66.5. 7, CSUN, 46. 8, UC Riverside, 44. 9, UC Davis, 17. 10, Cal State Bakersfield, 15.
200-meter: 19, MacGregor TeSelle, 21.37.
400-meter: 10, Alexander Franco, 47.88.
800-meter: 1, Aidan McCarthy, 1:50.76. 2, Carson Smith, 1:51.14. 5, Taj Clark, 1:53.28. 7, Jeffrey Overgaard, 1:53.87. 8, Miles Cook, 1:54.11.
1,500-meter: 1, Carson Smith, 3:44.38. 2, Aidan McCarthy, 3:45.38. 3, Chris Caudillo, 3:45.53.
5,000-meter: 1, Tyler Daillak, 14:14.74. 2, Dheeraj Gurusamy, 14:15.21. 3, Chris Caudillo, 14:15.70. 4, Liam Miller, 14:20.64. 6, Michael Chambers, 14:26.29. 7, Bryce Kueker, 14:27.14. 8, Rory Catsimanes, 14:30.19. 9, Eddie Sion, 14:31.83. 14, J.R. Lesher, 14:50.66. Ibzan Felix, DNF. Devin Ibarra, DNF. Ethan Miller, DNF.
10,000-meter: 1, Rory Catsimanes, 31:02.54. 2, Tyler Daillak, 31:02.56. 3, Liam Miller, 31:02.66. 5, Eddie Sion, 31:18.08. 6, J.R. Lesher, 31:24.32. 7, Ethan Miller, 31:28.82. 9, Devin Ibarra, 31:35.79.
400-meter hurdles: 3, Vincent Atilano, 50.67. 8, Ben Kin Ho Tsang, 53.21.
3,000-meter steeplechase: 1, Bryce Kueker, 8:39.21. 2, Michael Chambers, 8:46.40. 3, Dheeraj Gurusamy, 8:47.60. 15, Ibzan Felix, 9:37.51.
4x100-meter relay: 5, Cal Poly (Alexander Franco, MacGregor TeSelle, Vincent Atilano, Levi Romero), 40.87.
4x400-meter relay: 7, Cal Poly, (Vincent Atilano, Alexander Franco, Jeffrey Overgaard, Levi Romero), 3:13.09.
Pole vault: 1, Ben Feyrer, 17-6.25 (5.34m). 3, Caleb King, 16-4.5 (4.99m). T7, Matthew McHale, 15-10.5 (4.84m).
Shot put: 4, Aiden Pastorian, 58-2.5 (17.74m). 12, Albert Beerbower, 52-1.25 (15.88m).
Hammer throw: 1, Travis Martin, 237-5 (72.36m).
Javelin: 1, Conrad Bernstein, 226-11 (69.17m). 4, Colby Neron, 204-4 (62.28m). 9, Lucas Scott, 193-10 (59.08m).
WOMEN
Team Scores: 1, UC Irvine, 187.5. 2, Cal State Fullerton, 126. 3, Cal Poly, 105. 4, UC San Diego, 84. 5, Long Beach State, 69. T6, CSUN, 49.5. T6, UC Santa Barbara, 49.5. 8, Hawai’i, 47. 9, UC Riverside, 39. 10, Cal State Bakersfield, 37. 11, UC Davis, 25.5.
100-meter: 10, Ava Simos, 11.71. 20, Desie Armstrong, 11.88. Cadence Roy-Williams, 12.03.
200-meter: 11, Ava Simos, 23.75.
400-meter: 9, Jordan Jackson, 54.84.
800-meter: 4, Ella Echsner, 2:09.17. 13, Elianah DeMange, 2:12.84.
1,500-meter: 7, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 4:41.82.
5,000-meter: 2, Kelli Gaffney, 16:15.11. 3, Nikki Bridges, 16:40.32. 10, Melisse Djomby Enyawe, 17:17.32. 16, Ashlyn Leath, 17:33.28.
10,000-meter: 1, Kelli Gaffney, 37:04.66. 2, Nikki Bridges, 37:04.74. 3, Ashlyn Leath, 37:14.94. 4, Sydney Sundgren, 37:17.41. 5, Isabel Sanchez, 37:18.29.
100-meter hurdles: 12, Kaira Burrage, 14.10. 16, Citina Nardi, 14.58.
400-meter hurdles: 11, Kalia Estes, 1:01.39. 12, Avery Adelman, 1:01.78. 14, Kaira Burrage, 1:02.22.
3,000-meter steeplechase: 4, Isabel Sanchez, 10:42.03. 8, Sydney Sundgren, 10:52.77.
4x100-meter relay: 6, Cal Poly (Desie Armstrong, Ava Simos, Cadence Roy-Williams, Tayhlore Hoagland), 45.41.
4x400-meter relay: 9, Cal Poly (Elianah DeMange, Avery Adelman, Kalia Estes, Jordan Jackson), 3:45.96.
High jump: 3, Charli Kennedy, 5-8.75 (1.75m). T4, Melanie Castelli, 5-7 (1.70m). T10, Grace Proudfoot, 5-7 (1.70m).
Pole vault: 1, Lexi Evans, 14-4 (4.37m). T8, Grace Sloan, 12-4.5 (3.77m). Astrid Teran, NH.
Long jump: 7, Tayhlore Hoagland, 19-4.75 (5.91m). 15, Desie Armstrong, 18-2.5 (5.55m). 17, Cadence Roy-Williams, 18-1.5 (5.52m).
Triple jump: 8, Grace Sloan, 39-1.75 (11.93m).
Shot put: 3, Taylor Hofland, 48-7.5 (14.82m). 4, Golda Demby, 48-4.5 (14.74m). 13, Isabella Rigby, 44-9.75 (13.66m).
Discus: Isabella Rigby, NM.
Hammer throw: 8, Gracelyn Brown, 171-5 (52.26m). 11, Golda Demby, 166-9 (50.84m).
Javelin: 3, Camrenne Genilla, 152-1 (46.35m). 8, Leala Willman, 135-5 (41.27m). 14, Natalie Porter, 120-6 (36.74m).
