Kelli Gaffney and Isabel Sanchez achieved top-five all-time marks for Cal Poly track and field on April 16 during the first day of the Bryan Clay Invitational at Cougar Athletic Stadium in Azusa, California.
Their performances mark a significant achievement for the Cal Poly Mustangs as they continue their season with several major meets. The event, known as one of the fastest track meets in the country, saw five Mustangs compete on its opening day.
Ashlyn Leath started off the week by running a nearly two-minute personal best in the women’s 10,000-meter Open A section. She finished with a time of 34:45.87, making it the twelfth fastest time in school history and surpassing her previous record from last year’s Big West Championships by almost two minutes.
Gaffney ran her first outdoor meet of the season and posted a time of 33:49.78 in the women’s 10,000 meters Invite Heat 2. This result moved her to third place all-time in school history for this event and was over twenty-three seconds faster than her previous best. Meanwhile, Sanchez recorded a time of 10:33.75 in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase Open section—placing her fourth all-time at Cal Poly for that distance. Sanchez is also noted as last year’s Big West champion in this event.
The competition continues Friday with Day Two action at Bryan Clay starting at 8:30 a.m., while Cal Poly athletes will also participate at both the Mt. SAC Relays and Beach Invitational.
