RIVERSIDE LANDS 18TH STRAIGHT OEC TITLE

Riverside City College won its 18th-straight Orange Empire Conference Championship scoring the second highest points in conference history.

The Tigers finished with 507 team points, beating the rest of the field by almost 400 points. Orange Coast College took second with 113 points, while Saddleback College finished with 103 points in third.

Orlando Collins was named the OEC Men's Track & Field Track Athlete of the Meet. Omar Sanchez was named the OEC Men's Track & Field Field Athlete of the Meet, and James Henderson earned OEC Men's Track & Field Multis Athlete of the Meet.

Track

Henderson won the decathlon with 5693 points, while Lukas Konradsson took second (4785 points) and Logan Choe (4781 points).

RCC's Joshua West got the running events off on at the OEC Prelims with a first-place finish in the 3K steeplechase, clocking in at 10 minutes, 0.68 seconds. Fellow Tiger Dyeem Tolbert was right on his tail in 10:01.06 to take second, while Dillon Burhop (RCC) finished in third with a time of 10:49.63.

Riverside also took the top three spots in the 1500-meter, with Alex Wesolowski topping the podium after taking first in 4:20.10. Martin Sandoval followed in second with a time of 4:21.20, just edging out Anthony Silva in third at 4:21.90.

Aden Johnson (RCC) won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.78 seconds, while OCC's Josh Miller (second, 15.28 seconds) just edged out another Tiger, Ryan Watson (third, 15.36 seconds).

The Tigers swept the top four spots in the 400-meter, led by Collins with a time of 48.29 seconds. Lance Durazo took second in 49.07 seconds, while Jared Schulte finished in third with a time of 49.67 seconds.

Collins also led a Tiger-heavy 200-meter dash, winning with a time of 21.14 seconds. Lujan took second in 21.47 seconds, while Durazo finished third with a time of 21.81 seconds.

Saddleback's Mikey Schinstock won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.08 seconds, while RCC's Ahkil McClellan and Johnson took second and third. McClellan beat out his fellow Tiger with a time of 53.97 seconds, while Johnson came in at 54.44 seconds.

Riverside's Matthew Lollino won the 100-meter dash in 10.53 seconds, while fellow Tiger Aaron Lujan took second in one of the closest battles ever. Lujan finished in 10.774 seconds to beat out Saddleback's Shaun Thompson, who clocking in at 10.775 seconds.

Wesoloski (RCC) won the 800-meter run in 1:56.24, while Orange Coast's Bernie Enriquez took second in 1:56.71 and Sandoval (RCC) grabbed third with a time of 1:57.59.

Riverside's Luis Mier won the 5K by almost five seconds, crossing the finish line in 15:39.54, while fellow Tiger West took second in 15:44.40 and Fullerton's Zidane Ras followed in third with a time of 15:48.40.

Mier also won the 10K in 33:40.29, followed by Orange Coast's Jacob Fujimoto, who clocked in at 34:43.69. Fullerton's Ras grabbed third with a time of 35:20.93.

RCC won the 4x100 in 41.55 seconds and capped the championship meet with a 3:18.89 time in the 4x400.

Field

Riverside swept three of the throws events: shot put, hammer and discus.

Damien Ortiz won the shot put with a mark of 16.12 meters, while Omar Sanchez followed in second at 15.45 meters and Jace Collins took third (14.69 meters).

Joey Garcia won the hammer with a mark of 50.01 meters, while fellow Tigers Sanchez (second, 49.86 meters) and Zolan Frank (third, 48.80 meters) rounded out the top three spots.

Riverside swept the top 11 spots in the discus, with Sanchez leading the group, hitting 49.72 meters. Garcia followed in second with a mark 44.96 meters, while Collins took third with a toss of 44.37 meters.

Saddleback's Isaiah Williams won the long jump after clearing 7.42 meters. RCC's Shae Yancey grabbed second after hitting 7.03 meters and OCC's Josh Santos finished in third, also with a mark of 7.03 meters.

Jameel Naber (Saddleback) claimed the javelin championship, hurling a mark of 54.61 meters. Mateo De La Parra (RCC) took second with a toss of 48.25 meters, while fellow Tiger Logan Choe followed in third place with a hurl of 45.52 meters.

Saddleback picked up the top two spots in the pole vault, led by Connor Hutchison, who cleared 4.35 meters to win the championship. Canyon Hadsall followed at 4.05 meters, while RCC's Connor Knox took third with a mark of 4.05 meters.

Riverside's Kameron Hawkins won the triple jump with a mark of 14.17 meters, while Gage McCorkell grabbed second with a jump of 13.48 meters and Saddleback's Kendall Jones took third with a mark of 13.23 meters.

Edward Moody (RCC) won the high jump after clearing 1.90 meters. Two OCC jumpers followed, with Josh Santos taking second (1.90 meters) and Cash Burton grabbing third (1.90 meters).

Story by Samantha Wellman, Riverside City College