Aidan McCarthy recorded the fourth-fastest 800-meter time in the NCAA this outdoor season at the Franson Last Chance Invite, held Friday at Cougar Athletic Stadium in Azusa, California. This was McCarthy’s first outdoor 800-meter race since competing at the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships.
McCarthy finished with a personal outdoor best of 1:45.53, which stands as the fastest time in the West Region for 2025 and ranks him fourth nationally among collegiate athletes this season. He crossed the finish line one and a half seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.
This performance broke McCarthy’s own school record for the outdoor 800 meters by .73 seconds. He came within .34 seconds of his all-conditions personal best of 1:45.19, which is recognized as the fastest indoor 800 meters run by an American in collegiate history. Earlier this year, McCarthy placed third in the 800 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships, becoming “the first Cal Poly men’s track and field athlete to secure Division I First Team All-American honors in an event on the track indoors and just the third overall.” Two years ago, he earned First Team All-American honors outdoors by placing seventh at NCAAs.
Junior Lewis Westwood also achieved a significant milestone during Friday’s meet, running a lifetime best of 1:47.97—over two and a half seconds faster than his previous record—which now stands as the fourth-fastest time in school history for that event. With this result, Westwood became only “the fourth Mustang ever to run a sub-1:48 time in the 800.” His mark is among the top thirty performances in the West Region this season.
Freshman Jeffrey Overgaard ran a personal best of 1:50.31 in the same event, tying for eleventh place on Cal Poly’s all-time list.
The competition will continue Saturday with Cal Poly’s men’s 4×400 relay team and seven runners set to compete in the 1,500 meters to conclude regular season events for the Mustangs.
