Eleven distance runners and the men’s 4×400-meter relay team from Cal Poly are set to compete at the Franson Last Chance Invite at Azusa Pacific University on Friday and Saturday. The meet marks the final opportunity for these athletes to post qualifying times ahead of the NCAA West Preliminaries, which will take place at Texas A&M from May 28-31.
To qualify for the NCAA West Prelims, athletes must rank in the top 48 individually or be part of a relay team ranked in the top 24 in the West Region. Currently, 14 Mustangs have already posted qualifying marks for this event: Michael Chambers (men’s 3,000 steeplechase), Tatiana Cornejo (women’s 1,500, 5,000), Rory Devaney (men’s hammer throw), Lexi Evans (women’s pole vault), Ben Feyrer (men’s pole vault), Kelli Gaffney (women’s 10,000), Dheeraj Gurusamy (men’s 3,000 steeplechase), Bryce Kueker (men’s 3,000 steeplechase), Travis Martin (men’s hammer throw), Aidan McCarthy (men’s 1,500), Colby Neron (men’s javelin), Corban Payne (men’s shot put), Carson Smith (men’s 800) and Chase Walter (men’s 400, 800).
Competition begins Friday at 6 p.m., when four Cal Poly distance runners compete in the 800 meters. Aidan McCarthy will run his first outdoor collegiate 800-meter race since last year. McCarthy previously finished third in the indoor NCAA Championships’ 800 meters earlier this season and holds school records in both indoor and outdoor versions of that event.
On Saturday, attention turns to other distance events and especially to the men’s 4×400 relay team. The relay is currently seeded No.25 in the region with a time of 3:09.06—just outside qualifying range—and will likely need to break near the school record of 3:07.10 to advance. Expected runners for Cal Poly are Vincent Atilano, Chase Walter, Alexander Franco and MacGregor TeSelle.
Other Mustang athletes scheduled to compete include Levi Romero in the men’s 400 meters; Ella Echsner in the women’s 800; Sydney Sundgren and Melisse Djomby Enyawe in women’s sections of the 1,500; Jeffrey Overgaard and Lewis Westwood joining McCarthy in Friday night men’s sections of the 800; as well as Ibzan Felix, Mateo Malko-Allen, Spencer Pickren, Carson Smith and Chris Caudillo participating alongside Westwood in Saturday night sections of the men’s 1,500.
After this meet concludes, Cal Poly will prepare for next week’s Big West Championships at Long Beach State’s Jack Rose Track. Last year Cal Poly became the first school in more than a decade to win both men’s and women’s titles at that event.
