The Cal Poly track and field program hosted the 36th annual Cal Poly ShareSLO Invitational Saturday where they inaugurated their newly renovated facility — the Steve Miller & John Capriotti Athletics Complex.
With 12 collegiate teams in attendance along with several professional athletes entered in various events, the Mustangs were able to win six events and post several personal bests.
“We were competing hard, and we were competing for each other,” head coach Mark Conover said. ”They really responded to having alumni here so it was a good day all around.”
Cal Poly freshman Brooke Tjerrild took the first win. She came close to breaking the long-standing women’s pole vault record of 13 feet, 8 inches when she cleared 13 feet, 7.25 inches to win the event, moving her to second place in school history. With her new lifetime personal record, Tjerrild is now ranked No. 3 nationally for 2018.
Cal Poly senior Daijah Joe-Smith was victorious in two events, as she first prevailed in the 100m dash while tying her career-best with a wind-aided performance of 0:11.72. She then followed that performance with a win in the 200m, posting a time of 0:24.66.
Also on the track, senior Peter Cotsirilos won the 1,500m with a career-best time of 3:48.80, which was good enough to establish himself as No.7 regionally. Senior Mikey Giguere and junior Alex Merder then followed soon after by earning personal records in the 1,500m, and finishing in third and fourth place respectively with times of 3:50.80 and 3:51.02.
In the 400m race, senior Liam Martinez took home first place, recording a season-best time of 0:48.77 while senior Dan Cardiff followed in sixth place with a personal record of 0:50.85.
The final win for the Mustangs came courtesy of senior Danielle Taylor, who cleared a season-best height of 5 feet, 5.75 inches to win the women’s high jump, claiming a four-way tiebreaker with having the least attempts. Sophomore Julie Zweng came in fourth after also jumping 5 feet, 5.75 inches, while sophomore Julianna Ruotolo tied for fifth with a jump of 5 feet, 3.75 inches.
After hosting the invitational at the new facility, Conover described it as, “a historic day for Cal Poly track and field.”
“Cal Poly has such a rich tradition of alumni and track and field, and today was just a testament to all that,” Conover said. “ You could see the energy, and the number of people, and the positive vibes all around.”
Cal Poly’s track and field team will split up this weekend as they attend the Stanford Invitational, the San Francisco State Distance Carnival and CSU Fullerton’s Titan Challenge.