Senior Carson Smith and junior Chris Caudillo of Cal Poly secured spots at the NCAA Championships after their performances at the NCAA West Prelims in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on May 29. Both athletes qualified for nationals in the men’s 1,500-meter event for the first time.
On the final day of competition for Cal Poly men, six Mustang distance runners competed for bids to the championships scheduled to take place June 10-13 in Eugene, Oregon. Smith placed fourth in his heat during the quarterfinals with a strong finish over the last 400 meters. Caudillo also finished fourth in his heat and posted a time of 3:38.06—the fourth-fastest across both heats—while Smith ran a time of 3:45.36.
This marks the first season that Cal Poly has qualified multiple runners in the men’s 1,500 meters for nationals. Smith is a three-time West Prelims qualifier who nearly missed advancing from Wednesday’s first round after being pushed off track late in his race; following a protest by Cal Poly, he was advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals due to being in qualifying position when impeded.
Caudillo had originally planned to redshirt this outdoor season but changed plans as approval of an eligibility rule appeared likely. He will now make his first appearance at nationals.
Aidan McCarthy also competed in Friday’s quarterfinals and finished his collegiate career by placing 23rd overall. McCarthy leaves as one of Cal Poly’s most decorated middle-distance runners with three First Team All-American honors and four school records.
In other events Friday, Michael Chambers (14th), Bryce Kueker (18th), and Dheeraj Gurusamy (33rd) raced in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase quarterfinals. Chambers set a lifetime best with an eighth-fastest school mark but narrowly missed qualifying for nationals.
With Smith and Caudillo joining Ben Feyrer (men’s pole vault), Lexi Evans (women’s pole vault), and Travis Martin (men’s hammer throw) as qualifiers earlier this week, Cal Poly reached five NCAA qualifiers—its highest total since adopting its current regional format.
