NCAA West Preliminaries
Smith, Caudillo Earn Tickets to NCAA Championships in Eugene
5/29/2026 11:40:00 PM | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Two more Mustangs punched their tickets to nationals on Friday as senior Carson Smith and junior Chris Caudillo both secured trips to the NCAA Championships for the first time.
It was the final day of competition for the Cal Poly men at the NCAA West Prelims, and six Mustang distance runners fought for bids to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 10-13.
The three Mustangs that qualified for the men’s 1,500-meter quarterfinals hit the track first and made history. In the first of two heats, Smith used a stellar final 400 meters and a kick down the frontstretch to place fourth in the heat, earning an automatic qualifier spot to the NCAA Championships in Eugene. Then in heat two, Caudillo propelled himself into the national meet by also placing fourth in his heat to earn one of the 12 qualifying spots to NCAAs in the event. Caudillo posted the fourth-fastest time (3:38.06) across the two 1,500 quarterfinal heats, while Smith ran the 15th-fastest time (3:45.36).
With Smith and Caudillo both making it to nationals, this marks the first time in program history the Mustangs have qualified multiple runners in the men’s 1,500 for NCAAs during a season.
Smith, a three-time West Prelims qualifier, nearly didn’t make it out of the first round of the 1,500 on Wednesday. After getting shoved off the track in the closing stages of his first round race, the Mustangs filed a protest and Smith received a spot in the quarterfinals on Friday due to the Temecula, Calif. native being in a qualifying position when the offense occurred. Smith took full advantage of the second chance on Friday with an incredible individual performance.
Caudillo, also a three-time West Prelims qualifier, was originally going to redshirt during this outdoor season, but a few weeks ago plans changed with the proposed five-in-five eligibility rule looking like it will be approved by the NCAA. Now the Clovis, Calif. native is heading to nationals for the first time.
Aidan McCarthy also ran in the second heat of the men’s 1,500 quarterfinals on Friday, placing 23rd overall. The race was the final of McCarthy’s collegiate career. One of the most decorated and accomplished middle distance runners in program history, McCarthy finishes his career as a three-time First Team All-American in the 800 and is the school record holder in four events (men’s indoor and outdoor 800, indoor 1,000 and indoor mile), the most by any male in program history.
Three Mustangs also competed in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase quarterfinals on Friday with Michael Chambers, Bryce Kueker and Dheeraj Gurusamy finishing 14th, 18th and 33rd respectively in the event. Chambers was just two places away from earning a trip to nationals and his time of 8:39.89 was a new lifetime best and the fourth fastest in school history.
Smith and Caudillo securing berths to nationals on Friday allowed Cal Poly to reach five NCAA qualifiers with Ben Feyrer (men’s pole vault) and Lexi Evans (women’s pole vault) punching tickets Thursday and Travis Martin (men’s hammer throw) locking up a second straight bid to Eugene on Wednesday. The five NCAA qualifiers are the most in program history since the current two-regional format was adopted in 2010.
Isabella Rigby (women’s discus) and Grace Proudfoot (women’s high jump) will officially wrap up the West Prelims for the Mustangs on Saturday when they compete at 11 a.m. PDT and noon PDT respectively. You can follow the live results HERE.
Cal Poly Results
NCAA West Prelims Day 3
Men’s 1,500-meter Quarterfinals: 4, Chris Caudillo, 3:38.06. 15, Carson Smith, 3:45.36. 23, Aidan McCarthy, 3:49.33.
Men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase Quarterfinals: 14, Michael Chambers, 8:39.89. 18, Bryce Kueker, 8:45.21. 33, Dheeraj Gurusamy, 8:59.20.
