Cal Poly Track and Field had a strong outing in the UCSB Invitational, competing in their first outdoor meet of the season along with UCSB, CSU Bakersfield, Porterville and Westmont on Mar. 6-8.
The Mustangs had outstanding performances across the board, taking the victory in 15 events, but the main highlight came from the two junior college transfers who made their debuts.
Junior Travis Martin made an immediate impact in his first event as a Mustang, winning and setting a school record in the men’s hammer throw with a mark of 214 feet, six inches. His throw was a personal record and outdid the former record by over 12 feet.
The San Jose native transferred from De Anza Junior College where he won the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship in the men’s hammer throw in the 2022-23 season.
Junior Colby Neron also transferred in by way of Umpqua Community College and is a two-time junior college All-American in the javelin. Neron also impressed in his debut with a personal best throw of 227 feet, 5 inches putting himself at No. 3 on Cal Poly’s all-time list as his throw placed first in an event that the Mustangs dominated, taking all top-five placements.
Freshman Ben Lammers placed second with a throw of 192 feet, five inches, redshirt senior Kevin Schmitt placed third with a throw of 175 feet, 10 inches, senior Chase Walter placed fourth with a throw of 175 feet, five inches and freshman Anthony Edson placed fifth, throwing 153 feet, 11 inches.
The first-place finishes were commonplace for the Mustangs throughout the meet as freshman Mateo Malko-Allen won the 1,500 meter with a personal best run of 3:51.45, and junior Noah Bustos secured the victory in the long jump with a personal best jump of 24-10.
Junior Corban Payne took first place in the shot put with a throw of 55 feet, 11.25 inches while Schmitt won the men’s high jump, jumping 6-4.75.
Cal Poly took first in all three relay events, as the team of freshmen Jonathan Yu, Baden Bunch, Ryan Teeple and Bustos took the men’s 4×100-meter relay (41.47 seconds). The team of seniors Joey Souto and Walters with freshmen Alexander Franco and Levi Romero finished first in the men’s 4×400-meter relay (3:16.72 minutes). Lastly, the team of freshman Ava Fortier, graduate student Shelby Daniele, senior Anisa Rind and junior Cadence Roy-Williams won the women’s 4×100 relay (46.30 seconds).
Junior Isabella Rigby placed first in the women’s shot put with a throw of 155-9. Freshman Ashlyn Leath took the victory in the women’s 1,500 with a personal best time of 4:38.06 minutes. Daniele won in the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.73 seconds, tying second all-time in school history.
The Mustangs took the top four spots in the women’s high jump. Junior Lariel Henley won the event with a personal best of 5-7. Sophomore Chase Kubinski and freshman Melanie Castelli both jumped 5-5 to place second and third respectively. Sophomore Maia Garcia placed fourth with a jump of 5-3.
Cal Poly will return home to host their only meet of the regular season at the Miller & Capriotti Athletics Complex for the Mark Conover Classic.