Redshirt sophomore Aidan McCarthy finished seventh in the men’s 800-meter race with a time of 1:46.78 at the NCAA Track and Field Championships on Friday, June 9 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Texas.
With the finish, McCarthy earned First Team All-American honors, making him the first Mustang since 2011 to do so.
Along with earning that praise, McCarthy scored team points for Cal Poly at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2007 and the 12th time in program history.
Before Friday’s action, McCarthy had to punch his ticket to the 800-meter finals on Wednesday, a feat never accomplished by a Mustang in the school’s history.
He did just that, finishing in first place in heat three with a time of 1:47.60 after entering the semifinals as the highest seed.
By moving on, McCarthy also became the first Cal Poly track athlete, no matter the event, to reach the NCAA Finals since Ben Bruce in 2005, who reached the finals for the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
It was a storybook season for McCarthy, and he still has a few years remaining to make history for the Green and Gold.