The Riverside men and the Cerritos women bring titles home!!!

5/17/09 

The Riverside men and the Cerritos College women continued their stranglehold on their state championship crowns as both colleges were able to successfully defend their titles this weekend. 

                       Nick Armstrong of Cerritos leads De Anza's Marko Vatavuk in the 1500 meter section of the men's decathlon.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

On a picturesque but very hot day at San Mateo College, both teams proved that their number one rankings were correct, as both stepped up to stiff challenges from several schools to maintain their status as the top track teams California. 

In the men’s competition, Riverside was the favorite, however, they found themselves in a very close battle that did not see them finally pull away for the victory to the very last events. 

The competition began with the hammer.  Moorpark, who would be a factor all day, went to the early lead as Dennis Aliotta began a huge weekend by winning with the competition with a throw of 55.23 meters.  Moorpark’s Karl Gehrke would place 4^th and teammate Donald Romero would place 7^th, giving Moorpark a great start to the meet. 

  The men's 4 x 100 heads into the last exchange.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

Riverside, would start it’s point barrage in the jumps, beginning with the long jump.  Antelope Valley’s Ryan Butts would go onto to take the individual crown, however, Riverside placed three jumpers in the top five, answering Moorpark’s opening throws spectacular. 

Cerritos got into the act by surprising performances in the men’s decathlon.  Nick Armstrong, the Southern California Champion, was the favorite to take the individual title and was superb throughout the day, setting several personal best to easily grab the title.  However, the surprise of the competition went to his teammate, David Thomas, who shocked the field with key performances, giving him the runner-up position. 

  Cesar Mireles of Bakersfield leads in the early stages of the men's 1500.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

The day of surprises continued for the teams who would eventually end up  challenging for the title.  In the men’s 4 x 100, Riverside came in as the top team, and they were joined by Southwestern and a very good San Francisco City College team.  However, Cerritos College, who had slipped under the radar most of the year, pulled the upset, winning in a time of 40.24. 

Mt. SAC also brought its proud tradition of track and field, which was put on display, especially in the hurdles.  In the men’s 110 high hurdles, Merritt’s Ray Stewart took the title, however, the Mounties, John Harris took the 3^rd position behind Long Beach’s Michael Hancock.  Later in the day, top athlete, Marcus Pope, brought the Mounties a blue ribbon and big points with a victory in the 400 hurdles. 

Merrit's Ray Stewart extends to clear the 7th hurdle of the men's 110 high hurdles.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

In the throws, Moorpark continued to rack up the points with a victory by Karl Gehrke in the discus.  Later in the day, Moorpark would take another blue ribbon as Dennis Aliotta had a huge throw of 60’ 7” to win the men’s shot put. 

In the men’s 100, Southwestern’s Curtis Mitchell, successfully defended his title while Riverside continued to score points through consistency, with Daniel Auberry scoring with a 4^th place finish.   Auberry would score again, finishing second behind Mitchell in the 200.  Cerritos’ Kelsey Ceasar kept the Falcon’s hopes alive, placing 2^nd in the men's 400 to American River’s Kianti Gix who won the race in a blistering time of 46.59.   

The men's 5000 on the first lap of the race.  Daniel Tapia of Hartnell would go on to the win.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

In one of the most anticipated events of the day, the men’s 800 turned into a thrilling sprint for the finish, with Cerritos’ Torion Bailey out-kicking defending state champion Stephen May of Riverside and El Camino’s Anthony Mitchell for the victory and giving Cerritos 10 more needed points. 

Mt. SAC continued to hang tough as they scored big points in the men’s pole vault gaining 14 points, led by a blue ribbon effort by Eric Adolphus, who took first place. 

American River, Riverside and Sacramento head down the home stretch of the 1600 meter relay.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

However, Riverside was able to maintain the most consistency, scoring in the steeplechase and the 1600 meter relay, which was enough to push them to the lead for good as their men's team captured their second consecutive CCCAA Championship by 10 points over Cerritos and Moorpark who tied for second. 

Other notable performances were turned in by Hartnell’s Daniel Tapia who won the 5000 and 10,00, Fullerton’s Kenneth McGee who won the triple jump, Sacramento’s Fletcher Carlyle who won the high jump and the American River 4 x 400 team who also won a state title. 

Cassie Mitchell of Orange Coast, leads the women's steeplechase on her way to the victory.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

The Cerritos women were able to parlay consistency in the running events and some great field event performances to capture their third CCCAA title in the last four years.   

The high jump led off the women’s competition, Sacramento’s Susan Jackson won the event, beating Riverside’s Tiana Willis.  Karen Guravska of Cerritos was able to pick up some points with a 5^th place finish.  It would be one of three events she would score in during the course of the day. 

Mt. SAC’s women got off to a rolling start as Lenore Moreno, fresh off her victory at the So Cal finals in the 10,000 was able to repeat that effort and take the state title. 

The women's 100 meters flies from the start.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

West LA, trying to make a run at the title, got off to a fine start with the second place finish of Turquoise Williams in the heptathlon, finishing behind Butte’s Sarah Nichols.  Orange Coast also picked up points with a 4^th and 7^th place finish of Brianna Vanderwal and Liana Fuentes. 

The next day added more points to OCC’s coffers as Cassie Mitchell successfully defended her state title in the steeplechase with a national record time of 10:44.46.  She was followed by Zitalic Ley of Glendale and Sarah Muniz of Cerritos.  Mitchell would go on to win the 5,000 later in the day. 

The big threat from up north was Laney College, who showcased one of the finest sprinting displays in recent memory.  Laney athletes seemed to be everywhere in the speed events with victories in the 100  and 200 by Lauryn Newson, the 400 by Champelle Brown, and the 4 x 400 relay.  As speed often does translate to good jump marks, that trend held true as Newson also won the long jump. 

  Karen Guravska of Cerritos tries to get over the bar in the pole vault.  She would win the competition.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

However, Cerritos countered with a third place finish in the long jump by Cyntrail Pierce and a victory in the triple jump by Jessica Barfield.  West LA continued to keep pace as well with a 2^nd and 3^rd place finish in the triple jump led by Starasia Childs. 

In the hurdles, Cerritos’ Erin Straughter pulled away from a very tough field to take the individual title in 100 hurdles.  In the 400 intermediate hurdles, Ashley James of Fullerton took top honors, and Cerritos picked up more points with a third and fifth place finish by Apryll White and Straughter. 

Christine Cortez of Mt. SAC leads a pack of runners in the 1500 meters.  She successfully defended her title.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

Mt. SAC not, to be outdone, countered with a victory by Christine Cortez in the 1500, successfully defending her title.  She would come back to finish 2^nd in the 800, just being edged out by LA Valley’s Mekka White Edwards. 

The meet was still very close as only a half point separated Laney and Cerritos with just a few events to go.  However, Cerritos’ strength in the field events gave them the edge.  Karen Garavska won the pole vault.  Randi Hicks of Ventura won the javelin, yet Cerritos was able to place three spots in the top six.  This trend continued in the hammer as Holly Lohse of Shasta won the event, but Cerritos took the 2^nd and 3^rd spots led by Whitney Ashley. 

The consistency in the throws proved to be too much as Cerritos was able to pull away to win by a scant 6.5 points over Laney.  Riverside placed third. 

Other notable performances were turned in by Na’i Leni of El Camino who won the shot put, Jasmine Steward of Fresno who won the discus, and the Sacramento 4 x 100 team who took home top honors.

Team Scores        Ind. Results

The Cerritos women and the Riverside men take Southern California Championship Titles

5/10/09 

The Southern California Regional Championships is considered by  many coaches as the most difficult and pressure filled meet of the year.  The stakes are simple, either finish in the top 4-6 of your event or your year is over.  Plus, if your ultimate goal is to win a team championship, many things need to go as planned at the Regional meet.

           OCC's Cassie Mtchell leads the women's steeplechase.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

For the Cerritos women and the Riverside men, most things seemed to fall in place as both teams went on to comfortable victories.

On the women's side, Cerritos went on to win their 4th regional title in the last five years with a balanced team that was able to score well in many different events.

The women's 4 x 100 meter relay jumps out of the blocks.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

Beginning with a victory in the 4 x 100, the Cerritos women did not seem to let up as they had top three placings in the 100, the 100 hurdles, the 400 hurdles, the high jump, pole vault, long jump, shot put, hammer, discus and javelin.  Led by hurdler Erin Straughter who won the 100 hurdles and took third in the 400 hurdles and Karen Garavska who won the pole vault and placed in the high jump and javelin, Cerritos scored a whopping 159.5 points outdistancing the competition by 40 points.

           Mt. SAC's Christine Cortez leads the women's 1500 meters on her way to victory.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

Other outstanding marks were turned in by many of the top athletes.  Cassie Mitchell of Orange Coast, looked to be in fine form and ready to defend her state steeplechase title as she easily went on to win her second regional title in that event.  Mt. SAC's Christine Cortez, as expected went onto double wins in the 800 and 1500, running away from all of her competitors.  Maritza Hernandez of LA Trade Tech avenged a conference loss in the 5000 by taking the regional title.  Mt. SAC's Lenore Moreno won the 10k.

  Ventura's Randi Hicks watches her javelin in flight.  She would go onto win the competition.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

In the sprints, Glendale's Samantha Bogatz proved that Glendale had speed to match their distance strength as she won 100 and 200 meters in very impressive fashion.  Brittany Manuel of Riverside took the 400 title.

The field events also had equally noteworthy performances.  El Camino's N'ai Leni won the shot put with the discus going to Cuesta's Christine Weinreich and the Hammer going to Moorpark's Jane Swenson.

The men's 200 heads towards the straightaway.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

Riverside, winning it's second men's title in as many years, looked like a state championship team ready to repeat as they also demonstrated great variety in the ways they could rack up the points.  Riverside was able to score huge points in both relays, the sprints, the long and triple jump, the high jump and the middle distances that left every other team playing catch-up.  Led by middle distance star Stephen May who won the 800 and sprint star, Daniel Auberry who placed 2nd in both the 100 and the 200, the Tigers presented a problem for all teams looking to dethrone them.

Nathan Sellers of Glendale leads eventual winner, Muluken Beressa of San Diego Mesa and El Camino's Steven Calise in the 5k.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

As with the women, the men's top athletes performed best when it counted most.  In the sprints, Fullerton's Conroy Black defeated a tremendous field in winning the 100 meters, while Southwestern's Curtis Mitchell took the 200 meter title.  Cerritos' Kelsey Ceasar won the 400 meter title.  The men's 110 high hurdles and 400 hurdles were some of the fastest events of the day won by Michael Hancock of the Long Beach City in 13.77 and Riverside's Samuel Jeter in 51.10.

In the distance events, San Bernardino Valley had great success with many points and victories in the 1500 by Carlos Perez and in the 10k by Kameron Ulmer.  San Diego Mesa's, Muluken Beressa added a 5k title to his cross country state title.

In the field events, Moorpark gained the most attention with victories by Karl Gehrke in the discus and Dennis Aliotta in the hammer and shot put.  Other fine field event performances were turned in by John Harris of Mt. SAC in the long jump, and his teammate Anthony McClendon in the high jump.

Results     SO CAL PRELIM RESULTS

Riverside is on top at the OEC Championships

4/25/09

The OEC Championships turned into a banner competition for the Riverside Tigers as both the men and women took home conference titles, defeating rival Orange Coast in a hotly contested battle. 

Through the strength of their sprints and field events, the Tigers were able to create an insurmountable lead and hold off rival Orange Coast College to take the OEC crowns. 

Bobby Stangl of Saddleback leads the men's 1500, he would go onto the victory.  (photo, courtesy of Jim McCarron)

On prelim day, OCC actually took off to the early lead with outstanding performances by the distance corp.  Led by star athlete, Cassie Mitchell, Coast took 1-5 in the 10k, racking up big points. 

On the men’s side, Saddleback’s Matt Van Dyke continued his fine season grabbing the victory.  Also, Riverside picked up some big points by grabbing the 3^rd, 5^th, 6^th and 7^th positions. 

Riverside's Wayne West in the high jump.  (photo, courtesy of Jim McCarron)

Not to be outdone by her teammates, Saddleback’s Ashley Breen won the women’s 3000 steeplechase, while Riverside’s men picked up some more points with the victory of Daniel Cooper in that same event. 

When finals day resumed the competition, Riverside immediately went to work in the sprints, winning both the men’s and women’s 4 x 100 relays. 

OCC fought back once again with Cassie Mitchell as she won the 1500, yet, Riverside was able to pick up a key 2^nd place finish by Arianna Celis.  In the men’s race, Saddleback’s Bobby Stangl, once again, proved that he would be a force to be reckoned with as he took another big race. 

   The men's 10k field early in the race.  (photo, courtesy of Jim McCarron)

Riverside, however, continued to pour it on in the sprints, with victories in the 400 in the men’s section by Marquis Pilchur and women’s section by Brittany Manuel, in the men’s 100 and 200 by Daniel Auberry and in the men’s 110 high hurdles Samuel Jeter. 

Fullerton’s women began to get in the act as star sprinter , Allison Woody won the 100 and Ashley James took both the hurdle races. 

In the field events, Riverside once again asserted itself, especially in the jumps.  In the men’s triple jump, George Bui took the top honors while the women’s contest went to Vivian Ibewiro.  The long jump saw similar results with Tigers taking the two top spots on the women’s side, led by Tiana Wills, however, OCC’s Donovan Toban was able to win the men’s competition.  Wilis would return to win the high jump as well. 

  A pack of Riverside sprinters head for home.  (photo, courtesy of Jim McCarron)

Other point grabbers for the Tigers were Sione Fonua in the men’s hammer, Samantha Gutierrez in the women’s shot put and both of the men’s and women’s 4 x 400 teams. 

Other notable performances were turned in by Santa Ana’s Ryan Gleason in the men’s shot put, Golden West’s Danny Savoie in the men’s high jump, OCC’s Audrey Crouse in the women’s pole vault and OCC’s Daneille Morton in the women’s javelin.

Results

Cerritos takes the blue ribbon in SCC Championships

4/24/09 

In what many consider to be one of the toughest conferences in the state, the Cerritos College Falcons were able to bring home first place honors in both the women’s and men’s competition this past Friday at the South Coast Conference Championships. 

        Cerritos' Whitney Ashley gets ready to launch the shot put.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

With a balanced attack that featured equal successes in both the field and running events, Cerritos was able to put pressure on its rival, Mt. SAC, to match their consistency with great effectiveness in both the men’s and women’s competition. 

Beginning on Tuesday with the steeplechase, Cerritos jumped to an early lead.  In the women’s steeplechase, Sarah Muniz led a 1-2-3 Falcon sweep winning the race in a solid time of 11:31 on a sweltering day in Compton.  This performance was immediately followed by a victory by Cerritos’ Qualaun Reed in the men’s steeplechase, defeating Mt. SAC’s, Sean Whitesitt.  Cerritos picked up more points with a 3^rd and 4^th place finish of two more Faclons. 

The men's 10,000 field prepares to start.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

In Tuesday’s field event finals, Cerritos’ Jessica Barfield led a 1-2 finish by the Falcons in the women’s triple jump, while East LA’s Gyasi Rivers took the men’s triple jump crown. 

Other field events contested on Tuesday included the hammer throw.  Here Cerritos scored big points as they placed 1 through 6 led by winner Arianna Lugo.  Mt. SAC fought back hard on the men’s side with a fine 1-2 finish won by Gabriel Acero. 

The women's 400 hurdles field gets set in the blocks.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

The Falcons continued their great performances in the women’s throwing events as Karen Garavska won the women’s javelin defeating teammate and runner-up, Rachel Butler.  The Mt. SAC men continued to do a fine job in the throws as their top javelin thrower, Mark Horist, took the men’s competition. 

In the shot put, there were no surprises, as El Camino star, Na’i Leni, won the women’s competition, beating her teammate Salina Ropati.  The El Camino men faired just as well in their shot put competition as Jacob Weintraub took top honors leading a 1-2 El Camino finish. 

El Camino's Steven Calise, takes a big early lead in the men's 5000.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

The first day of competition ended with the men’s and women’s 10,000.  In the women’s competition, Mt. SAC’s Lenore Moreno pushed the paced, even with the blistering heat, winning going away.  In the men’s competition, Steven Calise fought off a nagging calf injury to take the men’s race, holding off a late charge by Cerritos’ Geovanni Popoca. 

Mt. SAC's Christine Cortez leads the 1500 meters on her way to the victory.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

On Friday, many of the competitions were highly anticipated and contained some surprises.  In the men’s 100, Pasadena’s Deandre Smith took top honors and Jessica Barfield of Cerritos was able to out-lean teammate Cyntrail Pierce took take the women’s competition. 

The field events continued to be a strength for Cerritos as Karen Garavska won the high jump and pole vault to go along with her victory in the javelin.  Jessica Barfield took the long jump and Whitney Ashley won the discus competiton. 

The men’s 800 was taken by El Camino’s Anthony Mitchell, while Mt. SAC’s Christine Cortez took the double, easily winning both the 800 and 1500 meter races. 

Cerritos' Kelsey Ceasar, on his way to the victory in the men's 400.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

Mt. SAC continued to fight back on both the men’s and women’s side with outstanding performances by distance star Lenore Moreno who won the women’s 5000 and a victory by their 4 x 400 relay team.  Their men also scored well in the 110 high hurdles and the 1500.

However, it was Cerritos’ ability to score points in almost every event, taking key spots,that overwhelmed their competition and led to their dual conference crowns.  

  Long Beach, Cerritos and Mt. SAC battle in the women's 4 x 400.  (photo, courtesy of John Goldman)

On the men’s side, other notable performances were turned in by Mt. SAC’s Eric Adophus who won the men’s pole vault and Cerritos’ Kristen Joseph who took the long jump, Long Beach’s Michael Hancock who won the 110 high hurdles, Mt. SAC’s Robert Santana who won the 1500, Steven Calise who took the men’s 5000 and El Camino’s Jacob Yowell who won the 400 hurdles. 

On the women’s side, notable performances included, East LA’s Brandi Gerardo who won the 100 meter hurdles and Cerritos’s Erin Straughter who took the 400 hurdles.

Results

Southwestern wins the women’s competition while Cuyamaca takes the men at FC Championships

4/24/09 

Cuayamaca used a combination of strong showings in the throws as well as some high placings from the previous decathlon to take the Foothill Conference Championships in the men’s competition, while Southwestern got big points in the distances to help propel them to the women’s conference title. 

In the women’s 10k, San Diego Mesa actually drew first blood as Samantha Espindola took first place honors, however, Southwestern gave indications of things to come by taking the 2^nd and 3^rd positions in the race.  On the men’s side, San Bernardino Valley’s Cameron Ulmer continued his impressive season as he won the men’s 10k. 

In the steeplechase, state leader, Michael Denman, of San Diego Mesa, won easily. While on the women’s side, Kristina Farmer of Palomar took the women’s competition. 

Chaffey which had a very strong sprinting corp opened up finals day with a victory in the 4 x 100, while San Bernardino’s women were able to take the women’s race. 

SBVC continued to show why they have one of the men’s top distance programs as they went 1-2 in the men’s 1500, led by Carlos Perez.  Southwestern, once again, came back strong in another distance event as Karla Atencio took the women’s 1500. 

Sprinting star, Curtis Mitchell of Southwestern, easily won the men’s 200, however, Cuyamaca picked up important points as Eric Russell placed 2^nd and Michael Tarver took 4^th overall.  The women’s race was taken by SBVC’s Melissa Rene and led a group of two more of her teammates who placed 3^rd and 4^th overall. 

Where Cuyamaca started to pull away from their competitors was in throws.  Kellen Dion won the discus, leading a group of five in the top six.  Kellen would also lead a 1-2 finish in the hammer which also saw six of the top eight from Cuyamaca. 

On the women’s side, Southwestern continued it’s strong showing in the distances as they grabbed three of the top six spots in the women’s 800.  This coupled with four of the top six positions in the triple jump and three of the top eight positions in the high jump were enough to push them to the championship.

Results

The Mt. SAC Relays keeps the tradition of great performances going.

4/12/09

The Mt. SAC Relays was a great testing ground for the community colleges as they headed for their conference prelims and championships which will be coming up in the next week and a half.  Many of the top Southern California schools as well as some excellent Northern California colleges were in attendance. 

In the opening 3000 meter steeplechase, some new faces crossed the line first, with Saddleback’s Kelley Breen taking the victory in her debut in a time of 11:55.33 while  Mt. SAC’s Sean Whitesitt won on his home track in a time of 9:48.92. 

The competition continued in the relays with a team from up north, Sacramento winning the women’s 400 relay in a time of 47.60 and Riverside continuing their impressive string of relay victories with another one in a state leading time of 40.56. 

As the day headed towards the middle distance events, Mt. SAC’s Christine Cortez put on an amazing show winning the 1500 in a speedy time of 4:36.33 then coming back and running a blistering 2:12.50 time in winning the 800.

On the men’s side, Saddleback’s Bobby Stangl took the men’s 1500 winning in a final kick defeating San Bernardino Valley’s, Carlos Perez in a time of 3:57.31.  Also in a thrilling race, El Camino’s Mitchell Anthony avenged an earlier season loss to Cerritos’ Torion Bailey, winning in a state leading time of 1:52.18. 

In the field events, impressive performances were turned in by Disha Hall of Southwestern who won the long jump, Riverside’s Tiana Wils winning the high jump, and Fresno’s Goziam Okolie winning the triple jump. 

The men’s field events were no less impressive with Fresno’s TJ Anderson taking the long jump, Chaffey’s Michael Curry winning the high jump and Saddleback’s Griffin Simmons winning the pole vault. 

The hurdles provided some outstanding marks with Cerritos Erin Straughter running a state leading time of 14.57 in the 100 hurdles.  El Camino demonstrated strength in the 110 high hurdles placing with Jacob Yowell winning in a time of 14.94. 

In the throwing events, Cerritos’ Karen Guravska won the javelin with her teammates also leading a 1-2-3 finish in the hammer led by winner Arianna Lugo. 

The men’s events were led by the fine performance of Modesto’s Russell Price who took the hammer.

Results

The Coast Classic has hot performances!!!

4/11/09

The Coast Classic this past weekend proved that it has become a big late season meet with many college and open athletes in attendance.  The day started with the distance events beginning with the steeplechase.

Zitlalic Ley of Glendale continued her success in the event, winning in a time of 11:19.68.  In the men's competition, state leader, Mike Denman of San Diego Mesa, won the event in 9:38.24.

The relays followed with Glendale winning on the women's side and host school Orange Coast winning on the men's.

In the middle distances, notable performances were turned in by West LA's Alysha Turner winning the 800 in a strong 2:18.72., and Rio Hondo's Ruben Martinez was the top finishing community college athlete placing 3rd overall in a time of 4:03.28.

In the hurdles, Antelope Valley's Troy Arceneaux was the top finishing community college athlete in the 110 highs placing 2nd overall in a time of 15.47, while Glendale's Tyra Porter won the 100 hurdles in a time of 14.85.  LA Valley's Sylvia Alboniga won the 400 hurdles in 1:04.10 while OCC's Justin Rovin took the men's race in 55.72.

Santa Ana's Diana Zapata won the women's 5000 in a time of 18:21.07 and Andrew Salg of LA Valley taking the men's competition in 15:18.32.

The throwing events also had their share of excellent marks.  Cuesta's Christine Weinreich won the women's shot put with a throw of 42' 8".  The men's shot put was won by OCC Eric Grunbaum with a throw of 46' 3".

Weinreich came back to win the women's discus while Cuyamaca's Kellen Dion won the men's competition.

In the pole vault, OCC's Audrey Crouse won with a vault of 10' 6" and Cuesta's Samuel Sampson vaulted 16' 0" to take the men's competition.

Results

Community College Athletes Shine at UCLA Inv.

4/3/09

The California Community Colleges were well represented at the UCLA Invitational which took place at Drake Stadium this past weekend.

In the men's 5000, San Bernardino Valley athletes took 1-2 with Kameron Ulmer winning in a time of 14:55.  Teammate Carlos Perez was the top finishing CCC athlete placing 4th in a time of 3:58.

In the sprints, Chaffey's Jamere Franklin placed 2nd with a 10.69 effort and teammate Marcus Pillares placed 2nd in the men's discus throw.

In the women's competition, fine performances were turned in by West LA's, Alysha Turner who placed 4th in the women's 800 clocking a 2:16 and Chaffey's Jessica Rosa who placed third in the women's high jump.

Results

Riverside Men Win 3rd Straight Conference Meet

4/3/09

The Riverside men's squad look like they are in post season form as the Tigers took the men's competition, defeating conference rivals Orange Coast and Saddleback the the OEC meet held at Orange Coast College.

As expected, RCC scored big in the sprints with Tommy Curry taking both the 100 and 200 and Marquis Pilchur taking the 400.

Orange Coast fought back with a victory by Sergio Olivarrias in the 1500.  Saddleback's Matt Van Dyke got the Gauchos into the action with a victory in the 3000 meters.

In the hurdles, RCC's Samuel Jeter took both the 110 high hurdles and the 400 meter intermediate hurdles,  Coast tried to remain within striking distance with victories by Eric Grunbaum in the shot put and hammer.  Saddleback also battled back with a 1-2 performance in the pole vault won by Griffin Simmons.

Yet, it was the prominence in the high jump won by Wayne West and placing 2nd and 3rd in the long and triple jump behind OCC's Donovan Toban that pushed Riverside to the victory.

On the women's side, Riverside was every bit as impressive.  Starting with the sprints, Riverside went 1-2 in both the 100 and 200 meter races which were won by Diamond Pate and Brittany Manuel respectively.

OCC fought back with victories by distance star Cassie Mitchell who took both the 1500 and 3000 meter events.  However, Riverside proved to be too much as a Tiger athlete won every single field event as well as both relays to pull away for the victory.

Scores

Men

RCC 100                OCC 54

OCC 100.5            Saddleback 53.5

RCC 115                Saddleback 39

Women

RCC 108.5            OCC 45.5

OCC 132               Saddleback 18

RCC 134                Saddleback 17

Results

SCC Preview Meet is Features Top Programs

3/27/09 

The South Coast Conference moved to a new format this year with the addition of the South Coast Conference Preview Meet which had every school from the powerhouse conference in attendance at the meet at held at Compton College this past Friday.  The meet did not disappoint as some outstanding performances marked the day.

 In the women’s competition, Cerritos was the favorite to win the meet, however, it was conference rival, Mt. SAC who drew first blood winning the women’s 4 x 100 relay in a time of 49.29.  The Mounties then came back and placed 1-2 in the women’s 1500 with state leader, Christine Cortez winning in a time of 4:42.  Pasadena, then got into the act with Ca’Shawn Sims winning the 400 in a time of 58.90.  Mt. SAC continued to roll as Cortez took the 800 and teammate Lenore Moreno winning the 5000 in a time of 18:31. 

However, Cerritos was able to keep close by rolling up enough points by scoring in the placing positions.  This gave them enough leverage as the field events proved to be their ace in the hole.   

Cerritos placed 1-2 in the women’s long jump, with Jessica Barfield taking the top honors.  This trend continued in the rest of the field events, as Barfield won the triple jump and teammate Karen Garavska won the high jump, pole vault and led a  1-5 sweep of the javelin.  Cerritos’ domination in throwing events led to their victory in the meet with other notable performances coming from Arianna Lugo who won the hammer.                    

Other outstanding performances came from El Camino N’ai Leni, who took the discus competition and shot put, Mt. SAC’s 4 x 400, team who won in a time of 3:59.19 and Long Beach’s Amanda Hernandez who won the 400 hurdles.  

The men’s competition also figured to be a battle between Cerritos and Mt. SAC for the top spot.  Cerritos started off things quickly with a victory in the 4 x 100 meters winning in a time of 41.70.  However, it was El Camino, behind distance star Steven Calise who got things started off quickly for his team with a victory in the men’s 1500 with a time of 4:04.  Long Beach City’s Michael Hancock, got his team into the act with a victor in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 14.29. 

Cerritos struck back with 400 meter star Kelsey Caesar who won the 400 in a time of 47.95 and teammate William English who won the 100 in a time of 10.89.  Caesar would also come back to win the 200. 

El Camino and Mt. SAC fought back hard with El Camino winning the 4 x 400 in a time of 3:17.62 and Mt. SAC winning in a 1-2-3 sweep of the high jump and pole vault led by Anthony McClendon and Dustin Valdivia. 

However it was Cerritos’ strength in the throws once again that put them over the top as they placed 1-2 in the discus and 1-2-3 in the javelin led by Jeremy Cutler and Nick Armstrong. 

Other notable performances came from Jacob Weintraub of El Camino who won the shot put with an excellent throw of 55’5”, East LA’s Gyasi Rivers who won the triple jump and Long Beach’s Bobby Workman who won the 400 meter hurdles.

Individual Results       Team Scores

Some Outstanding Marks are Showcased at the RCC Open

11/27/09

The RCC open turned out some eye popping performances this past Friday.  As expected, the sprints were one of the highlights, but some of the names near the top of the charts had changed.   

In the men’s 100 meters, Fullerton’s Conroy Black ran one of the fastest times of the year, clocking a 10.42, defeating Riverside sprinter Daniel Auberry who ran 10.47.  Southwestern’s Curtis Mitchell continued to impress as he clocked a 20.84 to take the 200 meters. 

In the middle distances, Riverside’s Stephan May won the 800 in a time of 1:55 while Cameron Ulmer of San Bernardino Valley clocked a 4:01 to take the 1500.   

Samuel Jeter of Riverside took the 400 hurdles and the Riverside 4 x 100 team also was impressive in their victory.  Riverside won the men’s 4 x 400 as well.  

In the field events, Ryan Gleason of Santa Ana placed 2^nd in the men’s shot put with a throw of 45’ 2”.  Riverside’s triple jumper, Chris Bernard won with a mark of 50’ 5.5”, and Antelope Valley’s Ryan Butts won the long jump with a mark of 24’ 3.5”. 

In the women’s events, Fullerton’s Allison Woody placed 2^nd in the 100 meters while her teammate, Maritza Williams won the 400 with a time of 58.94.   

In the middle distance events, Southwestern got a solid performance from Monica Carillo as she won in a time of 5:03, while Arian Celis from Riverside won the 2 mile run in a time of 11:29.   In the relays, Fullerton took the 4 x 400 with a time of 49.4. 

The field events also had fine performances as Riversides Samantha Gutierrez won the javelin with her teammate Vivian Ibewiro winning the triple jump. 

Results

So Cal Hep/Dec Championships Create Invitations to San Mateo

3/24/09

The Southern California Heptathlon and Decathlon Championships took place this past week at Cerritos College.  This is a high stakes competition where not are the individual So Cal Championship titles are on the line, but also the points that go towards determining the who the Southern California team champion may be as well as who will be the individuals representing the South in the state meet. 

In the women’ competition, a battle for LA took place as Aysha Moultrie of West LA and Brandi Gerardo of East LA were the top two competitors going after the title.  Moutltrie, throughout the day seemed to excel in the jumps and speed events, as her and teammate Turquoise Williams were always near the front of those competitions. 

However, Gerardo fought back with consistency and strength in the throws and also had a strong 800.  However, Moultrie’s ability to place in the top three in four different events, winning two of them lead her to the title. 

Joining Moultrie and Gerardo in San Mateo this May will be Moultrie’s teammate, Turquoise Williams who placed third, Orange Coast’s Brianna Vanderwal and Liana Fuentes and College of the Canyons Brittany Uhl. 

The men’s competition was not as close as Cerritos’ Nick Armstrong, the pre meet favorite, took the top spot, winning three separate events and placing in the top five of half the events contested. 

Also having an excellent meet was Mt. SAC’s Mark Horist who placed 2^nd overall with a very consistent string of performances. 

Joining Armstrong and Horist for a trip to San Mateo will be Riverside’s Sean Robinson, Fullerton’s Michael Sims, Cuesta’s Julian Salinas and Armstrong’s teammate, David Thomas.

Results

The Easter Relays Prove to Be a Pre-Holiday Treat

3/21/09

The Easter Relays, held in the picturesque stadium at Santa Barbara City College proved to also be a great place for track and field performances.

Mt. SAC's Christine Cortez took the honors in the women's 1500 meters, defeating her teammate, Lenore Moreno.  In other distance events, Santa Barbara's Paige Colijn delighted the home town crowd with a victory in the womens 5000 meters.

In the speed events, Bakersfield's women took the 4 x 400 meter relay, while Mt. SAC took the 4 x 200.  Moorpark continued to show its prominence in the field events as high jumper Rachel Olinyk took the top spot and teammate Calyx Schentrup took the long jump.

In the men's competition, Compton Manoah Wesson won the men's 100 meters, while Cuesta Michael Salvatierra continued to impress winning the men's 800.  Santa Barbara's Graydon Manning won the men's 1500, while Antelope Valley's Troy Arceneaux won the men's 400 meter hurdles.

Results

The California Relays Features Great Athletes and Greater Performances

3/21/09

In a weekend that featured 75 high schools and open athletes that included Olympic gold medalist and world champions, the California Community College athletes shined.

State ranked athletes from around California descended upon Cerritos College for an event that has continued to grow by leaps and bounds.            

In the men's 100, Sacramento City College's Armahd Lewis won the 100 with a time of 10.69.  Southwestern's Curtis Mitchell also ran a 10.73 for good measure.

Cerritos' Kelsey Ceasar won the elite 400 in an outstanding time of 47.67, while his teammate, Torion Bailey, took second in the men's elite 800, losing to Olympic gold medalist Felix Sanchez. 

In the distance events, Cerritos' Qualaun Reed won the steeplechase, while Moorpark's Isidore Herrera was the first community college runner to cross the line in the men's 5000.

Glendale's Samantha Bogatz placed 2nd in the women's invitational 100 in a time of 11.98.  College of the Sequoias runner Sierra Gonzalez won the women's 800 meters in a mark of 2:19.42.

In the longer distance events, Riverside's Arianna Celis took first place honors on the chilly evening winning in a time of 18:31.

Results

Riverside has Big Weekend Against Fullerton and then at CSUN

3/12/09 and 3/14/09

Riverside continued to mow through the Orange Empire Conference schedule as they defeated Fullerton in their dual meet this past week.  Some of the outstanding marks were attained to keep the Tigers rolling.

In the high jump, Wayne West was victorious with a leap of 6' 8".  Sean Robinson won the shot put with a throw of 46' 2.5" and Daniel Cooper took the men's 3000.

In other event, Fullerton College’s Kenneth McGee (23’3.50”) edged out RCC’s Giorgio Bryant (23’1.25) in the long jump and the Tigers Bafari Fant took the 400 meters.

In the women's competition Fullerton's Allison Woody took the 100 and 200 meter races.  However, the Lady Tigers bounced back with a victory by Latoya Corley in the 400 and Ebony Monroe in the women's 3000.

In the field events, Lindsey Cano of Riverside took the long jump and her teammate Tanya Martinez lead a sweep for the Tigers in the Discus. 

On Saturday, the Tigers took the 4 x 100 team to Cal State Northridge and had an outstanding day against the four year schools.  Notable performances were turned in by the 4 x 100 team winning the event and defeating USC in the process with a time of 41.2.  The Tigers also turned in an outstanding 1:27 mark in the 4 x 200.  Daniel Auberry continued to improve in the 100 meters with a 10.7 clocking.

Results

Cerritos Wins Four-Way Meet in Heated Competition

3/14/09

Moorpark College was the host school for a four-way meet that included some of the top ranked schools in the state.  The competition included Cerritos, West LA, with their state-runner up team from "08", El Camino with their 7th ranked men's team, and of course the host school, Moorpark with their 5th ranked men's squad.

 In the women's competition, things were tight early, with West LA taking the 4 x 100 relay in a time of 49.29 and the long jump competition with Turquoise Williams grabbing the victory.

However, Cerritos fought back with a 1-2 finish in the 1500, with Marlene Elizalde and Ali Bartosch scoring big for the Falcons.  West LA, not ready to give in, came back again in the 400 hurdles with their star, Turquoise Williams grabbing yet another victory.  Yet, it was Cerritos' power in the throws that gave them the victory scoring numerous points, including a sweep in the women's hammer throw led by Arianna Lugo.  This was enough to give the Falcons a comfortable victory.

 Other notable performances on the women's side were turned in by West LA'a Alysha Turner who won the women's 800, Moorpark's Jane Swenson who won the women's discus and El Camino 4 x 400 relay squad who took the team victory.

In the men's competition, there would be know comfortable anything as the battle between Moorpark and Cerritos went down to the very last event.

Cerritos struck first with a victory in the 4 x 100, however, Moorpark showed strength in the distances to go with their already powerful throws squad with Sterling Granger winning the men's 1500 and Isidore Herrrera winning the 5000 meters. 

 However, Cerritos would come back strong in the sprints with victories by sprint star Kelsey Ceasar in the 100 and 200 and by Torion Bailey in the 400, who would also later come back to win the 800 meters as well.

As expected, Moorpark did extremely well in the throws with a sweep in the men's discus led by Cameron McAteer.  Yet, Cerritos had strong performances too, as Noe Sosa took the men's shot put.

Things were close enough to have to be decided by the men's 1600 relay as Cerritos was able to place third overall ahead of Moorpark's team giving them the victory by the narrowest of margins 177 - 176.5.

Results

The Bakersfield Invitational Yields Some Solid Showings

3/14/09

The annual Bakersfield Invitational was held this weekend and some solid performances were turned in by several athletes in attendance.

In the women's competition, Bakersfield's Ashley Colbert took both the 100 and 200 meters as well as anchoring their victorious efforts of her team in the 4 x 100 relay.

Sierra Gonzalez of the College of the Sequoias won the 800, while in the field events, her teammates, Mina Muro and Melanie Weatherly won the high jump and hammer throw respectively.  In the last event of the day, the Canyon's women took the 1600 meter relay.

On the men's side, College of the Sequoias Damon Bly won the 100, while Bakersfield's Oshea Webber took the 200.  Sequoias Juan Martin won the 800, and Citrus' Evan D'Oyen was victorious in the men's discus.

Results

Two Year Schools Come Up Big at the Oxy Distance Carnival

3/13/09

The Occidental Distance Carnival always turns out fast times and this year was no exception for the California Community Colleges who were in attendance this past Friday evening on the Occidental College track.                                    

Starting with the middle distance events, Justina Sadauskaite of Glendale took the victory, defeating several university runners in from Alaska in the 800 meters race winning in a time of 2:18.08.  Her teammate, Zitlalic Ley was the first community college athlete to finish in the women’s steeplechase running a solid time of 11:19. 

In the men’s 800, Riverside’s Stephan May continued his string of good 800’s with another 1:53 performance.  In the men’s 1500, San Bernardino Valley’s Ronell El-Amin was the first community college athlete finish with a time of 4:06.                                  

In the men’s 5000, SBVC’s Carlos Perez showed himself in very good form placing 4^th overall in the race with a very solid time of 14:51.  Teammate Matt Sartori ran 14:58 and San Diego’s Muluken Beressa ran 15:02.  Beressa’s teammate Mike Denman moved to the top of charts on the men’s 3000 steeplechase state list placing 2^nd overall with a 9:34.93 clocking.                                                                     

As in the past, the 10,000 was a combined section of men and women.  On the men’s side, LA Valley's Andrew Salg ran an outstanding race, running a state mark of 31:22.49, also, El Camino’s Steven Calise, ran a mark of 32:00 flat, good enough for 10^th overall.  However, the performance of the night went to LA Trade Tech’s Maritza Hernandez who won the competition outright with an excellent time of 37:15, giving her the leading mark in the state.

Results

Community Colleges Up to the Challenge at Ben Brown Invitational

3/7/09 

Showcasing their new track and field facility, Cal State Fullerton once again hosted the Ben Brown Invitational and once again, the California Community Colleges proved they were some of the best athletes on the track.

Some of the highlights included Christine Cortez's victory in her section of the women's 800 meters, clocking a fine time of 2:15.10.  Cortez would come back later and place 4th in the women's 1500 with a clocking of 4:33.88, which is a state leading mark.

Orange Coast's Cassie Mitchell ran a state leading time of 17:49.72 in the women's 5000.  Trade Tech's Maritza Hernandez also won her heat of the women's 5k, running an 18:06.66.

Other notable performances came from Fullerton's Allison Woody who won her heat in the women's 100, Riverside's Natali Richeri who was victorious in her heat of the 800, Taina Will who won the women's high jump in a sate leading mark of 5'7", and Riverside's Samantha Gutierrez who won her section of the women's shot put. 

On the men's side, Southwestern's Curtis Mitchell showed he was ready to make a run at the state title winning the men's 100 in 10.54.  Riverside's Daniel Auberry ran the second fastest time of the day in the 200 meters with a 21.56 in the 200 and his teammate Mark Pilchur ranan impressive 47.93 to take the men's 400.

In the distance events, San Bernardino Valley' Matt Satori had an excellent clocking of 14:49.21 which gave him the top mark in the state in the 5000 meter run.    

Other notable performances included Marcus Pope of Mt. SAC, winning the 110 high hurdles in 14.56 as well as the 400 hurdles in 52.05, Riverside CC's 1600 meter relay team just being edged by UCLA losing by a scant half second and there 4 x 100 team running 40.91.  Antelope Valley's Ryan Butts placing 2nd in the men's long jump and RCC's Stephan May running 1:53.15 in the 800.

Result

Cerritos Men & Women Victorious in 4-way Meet.

3/6/09

The Cerritos College men and women both were able to defend their home field for victories on Friday in a four way meet in Falcon Stadium on the Cerritos College campus.

In actuality, it was a three way meet for men and a four way for the women.  Both sides featured El Camino, Saddleback and of course host school, Cerritos.  However, Palomar also brought a women's team into the mix. 

In the women's competition, Cerritos was able to showcase a very balanced attack as they demonstrated strength in nearly every aspect of the competition.  Sprinter Cyntrail Pierce of Cerritos took the 100 while teammate Jessica Barfield took the 200.  In the distance events, El Camino's Courtney Stephens won the women's 3000 and Cerritos' Ali Bartosch took both the 800 and 1500 meter events.

 The field events featured some outstanding performances that included Na'i Leni of El Camino continuing her dominance in the shot put and the discus and Cerritos's Aundrea Stovall taking the women's pole vault and high jump. 

However, Cerritos overall strength was enough to give them the comfortable victory over conference rival El Camino.                                     

On the men's side, the competition was close throughout the day, especially between Cerritos and El Camino.  The Falcons struck early with great performances by the 4 x 100 relay team as well as the double victory by Kelsey Caesar who took both the 100 and 200 meters.  

Yet, El Camino was able to counter with the outstanding running of distance star, Steven Calise who took both the 1500 and 3000 meter races.  Saddleback also scored some quality points with a 1-2 finish in the men's pole vault lead by Griffin Simmons as well as a victory in javelin by Ray Lian.  In the long jump El Camino put more points on the board with a 1-2 finish with winner Jamar Hutchison leading the way. 

Cerritos countered once again by wins in the field events led by Noe Sosa in the discus and Vincent Huitt in the javelin.  Also putting more points on the board for the Falcons was Torion Bailey who took the 800.  In the end Cerritos was able to hold off El Camino by a mere 13 points.

Results  

Two-Year Schools are Impressive at USC Relays

3/1/09

On an unseasonably warm day in Los Angeles, several California Community Colleges took part in the USC Relays held at Cromwell Field on the USC campus.  This is one of the few times during the season that the two-year colleges get to mix it up with the four year schools.      

Among the two-year schools in attendance were several state ranked teams which included, El Camino College with their 7^th ranked men, and 5^th ranked women, Mt. SAC with their 3^rd ranked men and their 10^th ranked women, Long Beach City with their 14^th ranked men, Moorpark with their 5^th ranked men, and Cerritos College with their number one men’s and women’s teams.  Other notable teams in attendance, was last year’s women’s state runner-up, West LA.

Four year schools included, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Fullerton, and of course host school, USC. 

Once again, the two-year schools showed they were up to the task with some outstanding performances that pressed their four year counterparts to their limits. 

Highlights for the two-year schools happened throughout the day, starting with the men’s steeplechase with Pasadena’s Ernesto Rodriguez winning in a state leading time of 9:47.46.  Mt. SAC’s Marcus Pope beating an outstanding field to take the 110 high hurdles in a time of 14.28 was one of the major victories by a two year school.  Another outstanding performance was turned in by the Cerritos College men’s 400 meter relay team which defeated Cal State Fullerton for the victory winning in a time of 41.71.  Long Beach City’s Bobby Workman took the men’s 400 hurdles in a time of 56.16 for the state leading mark.   

On the women’s side the athlete of the day was El Camino’s  Na’i Leni who dominated the shot put field with an over 50’ throw easily putting her as the front runner in the state in that event.  Another strong performances was also turned in by the Cerritos 400 meter relay team which was edged by Cal State Dominguez Hills

Results

OCC Cruises to Victories in Both the Men and Women

2/27/09

Both the Orange Coast men and women won easily in their contest against Goldenwest as both schools opened their conference competition. 

On the men’s side, some outstanding performances were turned in by the Pirates powerful distance squad with victories by Luis Gallardo in the 800 and Ragan Grego in the 1500. 

In the field events, highlights included OCC’s Donovan Toban who won both triple jump and long jump events.  Other outstanding performances were turned in by Goldenwest’s Danny Savoie in the high jump and Eric Grunbaum in the discus. 

On the women’s side OCC continued it’s impressive distance tradition with Teri Mitchell winning the 1500 and sister Cassie taking the 3000.  OCC also received fine performances from Liana Fuentes in the 100 and Katryn Karkut in the 400 intermediate hurdles.

Results

Canyon's Men Win Comfortably, while Bakersfield's Women Sweat A Close One

2/27/09

College of the Canyons won the men’s competition handily while a nail biter took place in Bakersfield’s victory on the women’s side this past Friday.   

In a meet that included the LA Valley and Santa Monica squads as well, some fine performances were turned in all afternoon. 

On the men’s side, Canyons enjoyed victories by Joe Spell and Lance Mosely in the 100 and 200 meters respectively.  However, Bakersfield fought back with a sweep of the men’s 1500 meters led by Eayoll Atssbeha which thrust Bakersfield back into the fray.  However, Canyons got much needed help in throws which were highlighted by a 1-5 sweep in the men’s shot put led by winner Glenn Rivera. 

On the women’s side, Canyons and Bakersfield once again squared off with Bakersfield going 1-2 in both the 100 and 200 meters led by outstanding sprinter Ashley Weber. 

Canyon’s fought back in the triple jump with 1-2-3 finish led by Brittany Uhl.  However, Bakersfield was able to garner enough points for the victory.   

Other notable performances were turned in by LA Valley’s Sylvia Alboniga in the 100 hurdles and Valley’s Lexi Rivas who took the women’s javelin.

Results

Moorpark Men and Glendale Women Win Conference Opener

2/27/09

Moorpark’s men and Glendale’s women took the opening meet of their conference competition as they were triumphant in a meet that included Cuesta and Citrus as well. 

Moorpark’s men were given a boost by the outstanding performance of sprinter Sean Alfino who took both the men’s 100 and 200 meter races.  Alfino also served an important role as his team won the 400 meter relay as well.  This combined with Moorpark’s dominance in throws gave them the easy victory. 

Other notable performances were turned in by Cuesta’s Michael Salvetierra in the men’s 1500 and Cuesta Sam Samson who won the pole vault. 

On the women’s side, Glendale took the honors.  Glendale for the past several years has used it’s distance strength to win meets, however this year they have also added some sprinting prowess as Samantha Bogatz and Melanie Artoun-Livaskan led 1-2 finishes for Glendale in both the 100 and 200 meter races.  This combined with their powerful distance squad finished off the competition as they won by 25 points.

Results

Riverside Dominates Opening Conference Meet

2/27/09

Riverside showed some more power in their meet against conference rivals Santiago Canyon and Santa Ana as the dominated the competition.   

Riverside continued to show its strength in the sprints with outstanding performances which saw them take 1-2 in the 100 and sweep both the 200 and 400.   

Outstanding performers of the meet included Riverside’s Daniel Auberry who won both the 100 and 200 meters, Alberto Camacho of Riverside who won the 1500, Santa Ana’s Ryan Gleason who led a sweep of the men’s shot put, Santa Ana’s Aaron Zook who won the men’s discus and Riverside’s Samuel Jeter who led a sweep for the Tigers in the men’s 110 high hurdles.   

On the women’s side, the pattern was the same as the Lady Tigers swept both the 100 and 200 meter events and took 1-2 in the 400 meters as well.  Outstanding performers of the meet included Zina Bascom who won the 100, Jasmine Pegese who won the hammer throw, and Lindsay Cano who won led a sweep for the Tigers in the long jump.

Results

The Cerritos College Invitational Serves as the Start of the "09" Season!

2/21/09

The Cerritos College Invitational has grown into what has become the unofficial kick-off of the California Community College track & field season.  With over 30 colleges and 2000 entrants, it has become one of the largest community college meets in the nation.   With that many colleges and athletes, the Cerritos Invitational also serves as a great way to give some insight into what to expect for the upcoming season.  What resulted was an exciting meet with perfect conditions and some outstanding early season performances.

The competition got underway on Friday night.  Most of what was contested were the relays, however, there were still some individual events as well.  In the javelin, Saddleback’s  Ray Lian took the honors with a throw 180’7”.  In the women’s javelin, Randi Hicks of Ventura left her competition way behind with a throw of 143’5”, nearly outdistancing the field by 30 feet.

 The steeplechase on the women’s side went to Glendale’s Zitlalic Ley who ran a fine early season time of 11:20.29 and defeating a field that included three other state finalist from the 2008 season. 

However, the race of the evening went to Cerritos’ Qualaun Reed who on the second to last lap fell at the water jump, slipping so badly on the barrier that he nearly did a back flip into the water.  Reed then got up moved back into second and then out kicked Pasadena’s  Ernesto Rodriguez, beating him by less than a second.  

The next day started with the 4 x 100’s.  Riverside, showing that it was ready to defend it’s state title by outclassing the competition winning in a time 41.31.  The women’s race was won by Cerritos in a time of  48.51. 

In other events, the women’s 1500 turned into a thrilling race which saw defending state champion, Mt. SAC’s Christine Cortez, take on Glendale standout, Katie Dunn and the defending state steeplechase champion, OCC’s Cassie Mitchell.  In a fantastic race that changed leaders several times, it turned into a kick down the final 100 meters. Cortez was able to hold off Dunn and Mitchell to win in a time of 4:44.25, edging her two competitors by less than a second.  On the men’s side, Cuesta’s Michael Salvatierra was the surprise winner in a time of 4:01.71.  

Keeping up with the success of his teammate, Samuel Sampson of Cuesta took the pole vault honors with a vault of 16’.  The women’s pole vault title was taken by Cerritos’ Karen Guravska with a mark of 11’6”. 

Other notable winners on the women’s side were El Camino’s Na’i Leni who won the  shot put with a throw of 48’8.5”.  Cerritos’s Jessica Barfield who won both the long and triple jump competitions, Palomar’s Aubriele Rowe who took the 5000, LA Valley’s Mekka White-Edwards who won the 800, and Cerritos’ Erin Straughter who won both the 100 and 400 hurdle events. 

 On the men’s side, notable winners included Santa Ana’ Ryan Gleason who took the hammer throw with a mark of 174’3”, Moorpark’s Karl Gehrke who led a sweep by Moorpark athletes in the men’s discus, Antelope Valley’s Ryan Butts who took the long jump, Riverside’s Samuel Jeter who won the 400 hurdles, Long Beach’s Michael Hancock who won the 110 high hurdles, and Cerritos’ Kelsey Caesar who won both the 200 and 400 meter races.

Results

Riverside Rekindles Competition with CSULB

2/13/09

Story by Jim McCarron

Even with a steady down poor throughout the competition, this was a fun meet with some solid performances.  Daniel Auberry of RCC ran a blazing 60 meter dash time of 6.96 to win the race and Tommy Curry of RCC ran 35.51 to win the 300 meter dash.  Stephan May and Sammy Jeter of RCC went 1-2 in the 600 meter run with times of 1:22.56 and 1:23.93. 

Jonathon Evans of CSULB won the 1000 meter run with a time of 2:40.93.  The 49er’s Josh Arrieta won the 3000 meters with a time of 8:46.24.  The 60 meter hurdles was an exciting race with Tony Crutchfield (RCC) and Sammy Jeter (RCC) tying for first with a time of 8.60.  The Tiger ran 5 4 x 400 relay teams with the A squad running 3:22.04.

Freshman Charles Smith won the Long Jump 22’0.5”, while Donnie Crandall of Long Beach State won the triple jump (43’9.75”).  The 49ers won the Shot Put with Rajan Baines throw of 49’4”, and the Discus with Peter Fourtounis’s throw of 141’7”.  Fourtounis also took the Hammer with throw of 141’11”.  Sione Fonua (RCC) won the Javelin with a toss of 157’10”.  “I was very pleased with how our team performed in bad weather conditions.  The defending state champion Tigers along with most of the entire southern region will be at the Cerritos College Invite this Friday and Saturday.

Results

OEC RELAYS GIVE INSIGHT INTO UPCOMING SEASON 

2/6/09

With the day under question with the unusual Southern California rains, the only events to get canceled were the men’s and women’s Pole Vault. With the teams using the meet to get ready for the upcoming season many coaches took to caution. 

Many of the high jumpers went from a short approach due to the weather conditions including men’s winner Danny Savoie (Golden West).  

Riverside looked impressive again this year, spreading their talent out and leading the way in many events. Xavier Townsend (RCC) won the triple jump (46-3.25) and his teammate Chris Benard took second while winning the long jump (21-10.25). The Tigers also won the 400, 1600, 3200 & 6400 relays. 

Eric Grunbaum (OCC) was the only double event winner winning the discus (135-9) and the shot (44-6.75). While his teammate Stephan Ruby led the way in the javelin with an impressive early season toss of 165-2. 

On the womens side it was Riverside winning 4 out of 5 of the relays, and 5 out of the 7 field events.  

The Tigers Karee Nordby threw 112-6 in the womens javelin under wet conditions to lead the way in that event.   Orange Coast won both of the individual events (400H & 3000m) they also took the top two spots in the high jump.

Results

GOLDENWEST PENTATHLON GIVES MULTI-EVENTERS AN EARLY START

Story By Don Turnbull

1/30/09

On Friday Jan. 30^th some of this seasons multi-eventers got an early start to the season by doing the Golden West Pentathlon.  

The meet started off with the men running the 60m hurdles and Jesse Guthrie (Golden West) got the fastest time of the day with 9.16 scoring 711 points in that event. He went on to win the Pentathlon with a score of 2850, just edging out freshman Xavier Townsend (Riverside) by 92 points. Third place also went to a freshman Trevor Engle (Golden West) with his score of 2678. 

On the womens side sophomore Sara Bartlett (Santiago Canyon) won the event scoring 1994. She won 3 out of the 5 events to overtake her teammate Macee White.

Archived Articles                                                                                      2008

2008 Track & Field Results

State Championships -  Individual Results     Team Scores                                                                        So Cal Championships - Results,   Direct Athletics     Results, html file                                                So Cal Prelims - Results                                                                                                                        Foothill Conference - Results                                                                                                                      SCC Championships - Results                                                                                                                    OECChampionship - Results                                                                                 Conference Prelims - SCC      OEC     WSC            Foothill                                                                    Mt. SAC Relays - Results                                                                                                                          Coast Classic - Results                                                                                                                                   El Camino, LBCC, Cerritos - Results                                                                                                         Riverside, OCC, Fullerton - Results                                                                                                    Canyons, Glendale - Results                                                                                                             Goldenwest, Santa Ana - Results                                                                                                      Riverside Open - Results                                                                                                                           Cerritos, El Camino, Mt. SAC - Results                                                                                                          So Cal Hep/Dec - Results                                                                                                                      California Relays - Results                                                                                                                     Fresno, Mt. SAC - Results                                                                                                              Goldenwest, Fullerton - Results                                                                          Riverside, Santa Ana -  Results                                                                                                  Bakersfield Invitational - Results                                                                                                              Aztec Invitational Results --     Men        Women                                                                            Occidental Distance Carnival - Results                                                                                                      Ben Brown Invitational Results - Men    Women                                                                                  Santa Barbara, West LA - Results                                                                                                        Moorpark, Glendale - Results                                                                                                             Canyons, Bakersfield - Results                                                                                                                Trojan Relays - Results                                                                                                                              OCC, Santa Ana - Results                                                                                                                          Fullerton, SCC - Results                                                                                                                        Canyons, LA Valley, Ventura - Results                                                                                                Riveside, Saddleback - Results                                                                                                       Cerritos Invitational - Results                                                                                                                Riverside, Long Beach State Results                                                                                                         OCC, Cerritos, Saddleback - Results                                                                                               Conference Relay Results   OEC Relays     Foothill Preview                                                          Mountain T's Indoor Meet - Results

2007 Track & Field Results

New Updated State Meet- Results,                                                                                                             State Championships - Results                                                                                                             Southern Cal Championships - Results,                                                                                                          So Cal Prelims - Results                                                                                                                              SCC Conference Finals - Results,                                                                                                                SCC Conference Prelims - Results,                                                                                                             Long Beach Invitational - Results,                                                                                                               APU Invite - Results,                                                                                                                                   Orange Coast Invitational  - Results,                                                                                                              Mt. SAC Relays - Results,                                                                                                                     California Relays - Results,                                                                                                                    Stanford Inv. - Results,                                                                                                                                 USC Invitational - Results,                                                                                                                            Ben Brown Invitational - Results

The California Relays and the Easter Relays are the featured events for this week!