TIGERS CLAIM 14TH CONSECUTIVE OEC CHAMPIONSHIP

Riverside City College won its 14^th-straight Orange Empire Conference Championship, beating out its competition by almost 200 points.

The Tigers finished with 316 points, while Orange Coast College took second with 144 points and Saddleback College finished in third with 70 points.

After the meet, Golden West College's Lowyn Pereyda was voted as the OEC Track Athlete of the Year, Roxanne Meyer was named the OEC Field Athlete of the Year and OCC's Nikki Witana was named the OEC Multis Athlete of the Year.

Witana won the heptathlon with 3,840 points, while RCC's Mabel Gonzalez (3,761 points) and Madyson Esqueda (3,061 points) followed in second and third, respectively.

Track

RCC swept the 3K steeplechase, with Caitlyn Brody winning the event in 12 minutes, 43.70 seconds. Isabella Chavez followed in 13:28.75, while Savanna Martin took third in 16:37.01.

Pereyda won the 1500-meter run in 5:00.49, followed by OCC's Belle Baker in 5:01.60. Fullerton College's Brittany Rodriguez rounded out the top three with a time of 5:03.39.

RCC took six of the top spots in the 100-meter hurdles, led by Tiana Burgess, who finished in 14.37 seconds to take first. Kierstin Marpaung followed in 14.64 seconds to take second, while Witana grabbed third in 15.50 seconds.

Fullerton's Jenna Krostag won the 400-meter dash in 56.16 seconds, while Kyndall Hayes (RCC) took second, clocking in at 56.63 seconds, and OCC's Jasmin Trujillo finished in third with a time of 56.69 seconds.

It was an all RCC final in the 100-meter dash, with Kaycia Carridice winning the event in 11.95 seconds. Skye Williams followed in second with a time of 12.42 seconds, just edging out Sara Brittin in third at 12.43 seconds.

Carridice also won the 200-meter dash in 24.43 seconds, while Fullerton's Krostag took second (24.62 seconds) and Watts (RCC) took third (25.77 seconds).

Pereyda grabbed another podium spot, claiming the 800-meter championship in 2:25.36. Saddleback's Zelda Sorto took second in 2:27.91 and OCC's Isabel Ramirez rounded out the top three with a time of 2:30.50.

OCC's Jocelyn Alba won the 5K, crossing the finish line in 19:08.63. Saddleback's Payton Love took second in 19:32.80, while Pereyda took third (20:06.80) to grab another podium appearance.

Love (Saddleback) won the 10K by almost two minutes, clocking in at 40:56.97. OCC's Alba followed in second (42:28.78) and Pereyda (GWC) took third in 42:38.79.

Orange Coast took the top two spots in the 400-meter hurdles, with Ana Chupinsky winning in 1:06.50. Witana followed in 1:08.51, while RCC's K'si Brooks clocked in at 1:09.19 to take third.

Riverside won the 4x100 in 41.55 seconds, while the 4x400 relay team finished in 4:01.76 to cap the meet.

Field

Skylar Svidergol led a Riverside-heavy discus podium, taking first with a toss of 41.21 meters. Victoria Redd finished in second with a mark of 40.21 meters, and Kenzy Eden took third at 37.75 meters.

Svidergol (RCC) also won the hammer throw, hitting 41.86 meters on her top toss. Eden (RCC) followed in second place with a mark of 38.20 meters, while OCC's Sahara Pulido took third with a throw of 37.14 meters.

The Tigers also swept the shot put, with Nyah Brown claiming the championship with a mark of 12.32 meters. Nyeta Urquides grabbed second with a throw of 11.64 meters and Eden rounded out the top three with a mark of 11.57 meters.

Saddleback's Alexandra McCoy won the pole vault after clearing 3.05 meters. OCC's Paige Hasegawa took second with a mark of 2.45 meters, while Saddleback's Sarah MacLean followed in third after hitting 2.30 meters.

Saddleback's Meyer won the long jump with a mark of 5.96 meters, beating her competition by over .5 meters. RCC's Stephanie Brittin followed in second with a mark of 5.41 meters, while OCC's Sara Chupinsky took third with a jump of 5.29 meters.

Meyer also won the triple jump hitting 12.61 meters to take the championship as well as breaking the OEC event record previously set by RCC's Destinee Widgins in 2015 (11.99m). RCC's Burgess followed with a jump of 11.87 meters to take second, while fellow Tiger Kierstin Marpaung took third with a mark of 11.12 meters.

Sara Brittin (RCC) won the javelin with a mark of 37.04 meters. Madyson Esqueda took second with a toss of 35.63 meters and Fullerton's Edie Pfefferkorn took third at 31.91 meters.

Orange Coast's Sara Chupinsky won the high jump after clearing 1.60 meters in fewer tries than RCC's Beua Hocking, who also hit 1.60 meters to take second. Riverside's Gonzalez grabbed third after hitting 1.55 meters.

Story by Samantha Wellman, Riverside City College