Cal Poly Track and Field wrapped up its successful trip to Arkansas on Saturday, ending the NCAA West Preliminaries with five national qualifiers.
After sending a program record of 19 entries into the meet, graduate student Travis Martin, seniors Lexi Evans and Carson Smith, junior Chris Caudillo and sophomore Ben Feyrer all punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships held on June 10-13. The five qualifiers are the most in program history since the current two-regional format was adopted in 2010.
Martin punches his ticket on Wednesday
Martin secured his ticket to nationals for the second straight year on Wednesday in the men’s hammer throw. After recording fouls on his first two attempts, Martin was able to deliver on his third and final attempt with a mark of 69.04 meters to place seventh overall in the event.
Last year, Martin placed 10th at the NCAA Championships to earn Second Team All-American honors. With his ticket punched, Martin is now the first two-time national qualifier in Division I program history.
Pole vault leads the way on Thursday
On Thursday, Cal Poly’s pole vault squad excelled, producing a qualifier for both the men’s and women’s teams. Coming into the event as the 18th seed, Feyrer secured his first-ever nationals berth with a height of 5.47 meters to place fourth overall in the men’s pole vault.
The mark was a lifetime best for Feyrer and moved him up to No. 7 in school history in the event. With his impressive performance, Feyrer became the first Mustang in 14 years to qualify for NCAAs in the event.
On the women’s side, Evans continued her stellar senior season by securing a nationals ticket for the first time. With a height of 4.43 meters, Evans cleared an outdoor personal best to surpass her own outdoor school record and place 10th overall in the event.
After placing just two places outside the qualifying mark last year, Evans got her redemption to become the first Mustang since 1999 to qualify for nationals in the women’s pole vault.
The final day
After securing their quarterfinal places in the men’s 1,500-meter first round on Wednesday, Smith, Caudillo and graduate student Aidan McCarthy marched onto the track with chances to secure their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
In the first heat, Smith propelled himself in the final 400 meters to place fourth and earn his first-ever qualifier spot at nationals with a time of 3:45.36. In the second heat, Caudillo also placed fourth to secure another qualifier spot for his first time. Caudillo’s scorching time of 3:38.06 was the fourth-fastest time across both quarterfinal heats.
McCarthy placed 23rd overall after running in the second heat, wrapping up the end of his stellar collegiate career. McCarthy finishes his career as a school record holder in four events, the most by any male in program history, and as a three-time First Team All-American in the men’s 800 meter.
With Smith and Caudillo both punching their tickets to nationals, this marks the first time Cal Poly has qualified multiple runners in the men’s 1,500 for NCAAs in school history.
All five athletes will return to action to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field on June 10-13.