Junior Chris Caudillo broke a longstanding Big West record in the men’s 1,500-meter race during the Franson Last Chance meet hosted by Azusa Pacific, according to a May 9 announcement from Cal Poly track and field.
The event served as the final regular season opportunity for Mustang athletes to improve their marks before the upcoming Big West Championships. Eighteen distance runners from Cal Poly competed over two days, achieving several personal bests.
Caudillo led the way with a time of 3:35.13 in his first appearance for Cal Poly this outdoor season. This performance surpassed Davis Bove’s school record set earlier this year (3:35.35) and broke Steve Scott’s Big West record from 1978 (3:36.0). The result is currently third fastest in the West Region and eighth in Division I nationally. Teammate Carson Smith finished fifth with a lifetime best of 3:36.11, which is now third fastest all-time at Cal Poly.
Other notable performances included personal bests from Tyler Daillak (3:44.90), Rory Catsimanes (3:49.28), Ethan Miller (3:50.80), Devin Ibarra (3:51.15), and Micah Sanchez (3:53.18) in the men’s 1,500-meter race on Saturday night.
In Friday’s events, Aidan McCarthy won the men’s 800-meter with a time of 1:47.90 while Jordan Jackson finished fifteenth overall on the women’s side with a time of 2:08.91—just shy of her personal best.
With these results marking the end of their regular season, Cal Poly will next compete at Long Beach State for the Big West Championships at Jack Rose Track next weekend.
