For the first time in program history, the full Big West Track and Field Championships will be held at the Miller & Capriotti Athletics Complex from Friday, May 10, through Saturday, May 11.
The Mustangs look to make some noise in the competition after a great regular season in which they broke school records in events such as the men’s hammer throw and discus and made top five program marks in the women’s triple jump, pole vault and 5,000 meters.
At the previous championships, the Cal Poly women placed second, and the men placed third. A total of five athletes won their respective events under an impressive first year under first-year Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Ryan Vanhoy.
The men look to win their first Big West championship in program history, while the women seek to win their second, last winning in 2021.
According to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s (USTFCCCA) Track and Field Ratings Index, Cal Poly’s men currently rank No. 12, and the women rank No. 21 in the NCAA West region.
Only two squads rank ahead of the Mustangs men’s squad within the Big West Conference: No. 10 Cal State Fullerton, No. 7 Long Beach State. The Fullerton men have won the last three Big West titles.
Three squads within the conference rank ahead of the Mustang women: No. 17 UC Irvine, No. 18 Hawai’i and No. 20 Long Beach State. The Long Beach women have won the last two Big West titles.
The first portion of the championships, the Multi-Event Championships, ran from May 3 to May 4. Senior Nick Gammal and freshman Isaac Knapp participated in the decathlon and earned three points for the Mustangs, placing seventh and eighth, respectively.
Their finishes put the Cal Poly men in fifth place heading into the full conference meet. Cal Poly did not have any athletes participate in the women’s heptathlon.
What’s on the line
At the championships, the Mustangs compete not only to win the meet but also to earn a spot in the NCAA West Preliminaries. To do so, an athlete must earn a top 48 individual mark or top 24 relay time within the West region.
Eight Mustangs made the preliminaries last season, four of which, in junior Spencer Pickren, sophomore Rory Devaney, sophomore Lexi Evans and senior Anthony Guerra return this season aiming to reach them again.
Devaney reached the 2023 preliminaries in the men’s hammer throw. After a strong regular season, he holds the third-ranked mark in the conference in the event, along with the second-ranked mark in the men’s discus over the season.
Pickren reached them in the men’s 1,500. He recently competed at the Oxy Invitational in Los Angeles while the Multi-Event Championships were going on, and recorded a top-10 mark in program history in the event.
Evans, reaching the 2023 preliminaries in the women’s pole vault, currently holds the top mark in the conference in the event and is a contender to win a title.
Guerra reached the preliminaries in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. He currently holds the top conference mark in the men’s 10,000 with a time of 29:29:26.
Athletes to look out for
Amidst a season in which history was made left and right, the Mustang throwing teams were at the forefront of the trend.
“I think our throws group has done a great job this season,” said Track and Field Director Ryan Vanhoy. “We brought in two new athletes who I think have helped push along that group, and it’s been cool to watch our throwers push each other week to week.”
The two athletes Vanhoy referred to are juniors Travis Martin and Colby Neron, who both transferred in by way of junior college.
In their first meet at the UCSB Invite from March 6-8, Martin and Neron immediately etched their names into Cal Poly’s history books. Martin broke the program record in the men’s hammer throw, and Neron earned the No. 3 spot in Cal Poly history in the javelin.
Martin and Neron are part of a throwing group that has gained national recognition. The team ranks No. 10 in the javelin and No. 12 in the hammer throw in the country. They, along with athletes such as Devaney, who holds the Cal Poly record in the discus and sits second in the hammer, have made the group a true force coming into the championships.
Martin and the rest of the squad are hopeful in their ability to contribute to the Mustangs’ championship goals.
“If we go out and compete, then we got a chance,” Martin said.
Sophomore MacGregor TeSelle has made waves in multiple events and looks to continue the trend during the championships.
The Rocklin, CA native has earned top-10 seasonal times within the conference in the men’s 100, 200, and 400, respectively. He is also part of a strong 4×400 team, which secured a new Division I Cal Poly record at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 19.
His performance at the Mt. SAC relays helped him earn Big West Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honors.
TeSelle participated in the men’s 4×400 during the championships last season and helped the team place third. His gained experience from then and the regular season will help him perform in the championships this year.
“It’s nice to know what it’s going to be like, how the crowd will be, and the pressure of the meet,” TeSelle said. “I think it’d be good just to go out there and perform when the lights are the brightest.”
Junior Melody Nwagwu has secured victory and made history within jumping events throughout the season despite dealing with injuries. The Aurora, Colorado native earned the No. 5 spot in Cal Poly history in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 41-8 ½ inches.
She hopes to use the toughness she’s gained from a tumultuous year to earn championships within her events.
“Strengthening my mental toughness helped me to be at the level that I am right now, and hopefully it’s gonna get me to two championships this weekend,” Nwagwu said.
A Goal from the Beginning
The Mustangs have been practicing with the championships in mind all year and hope to win the title in front of the home crowd.
“We, from our first team meeting back in September, just said, ‘Hey, this is what we’re building towards all year, hosting the Big West meet, and we’d like to try to compete to win, and win hosting,” Vanhoy said.
The full conference meet of the Big West Track and Field championships begins May 10, at 10:00 a.m.
For live event coverage, tune into Mustang Gameday on Saturday at 11 a.m.