One year after one of the most memorable finishes in CCAA Men's Track & Field Championship history, Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona are again locked in a battle for the 2026 title at the CCAA Championships presented by Pollo Campero.
 
With three events in the books, Chico State holds a 48-44 lead over Cal Poly Pomona, despite the Broncos winning all three gold medals.
 
Cory Gamero won the men's discus throw by nearly eight feet with a mark of 154-1 (46.98m). That mark earned CPP 10 team points. However, Chico State earned a second and third place finish with Alejandro Molina and Beau Gleeson to collect 14 points for the Wildcats.
 
The Broncos would regain some of those points in the long jump, where three student-athletes placed in the top four. Isaiah Baca won his first CCAA title with a mark of 22-10.5 (6.97m). Chico State's Collin Totman finished second with a mark of 22-5.75 (6.85m). CPP's Sam Coupland and Gavin Binning finished third and fourth, respectively.
 
The final race of the day had everyone talking as they left Mangrum Stadium. Cal Poly Pomona's Thomas McDonnell was ranked 12th in the conference heading into the Championships. Throughout the race, he was just in the middle of the pack, but his final lap will be talked about for a long time. After most of the field was posting lap times between 71-75 seconds, McDonnell turned on the jets for the last 400m, registering a lap time of 61 seconds to speed past the leaders and repeat as the CCAA's 10k champion. He finished the race with a time of 30:26.72, nearly a full minute faster than last season.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt's Bryce Pearson leads the decathlon with 3518 points. Cal Poly Pomona's Sam Coupland is second (3479 points), followed by a trio of Chico State student-athletes (Lavell Cross, Collin Totman, and Jeffrey O'Brien).
 
The second day of the 2026 CCAA Men's Track & Field Championships presented by Pollo Campero will begin at 11 a.m.