Riverside Takes Commanding Lead After OEC Prelims

Riverside City College saw four Orange Empire Conference individual champions crowned after the OEC Prelims on Friday.

The Tigers currently hold a tight grasp on first place with 193 team points, while Orange Coast College sits in second with 27 points and Saddleback College is right behind in 25 points for third.

RCC dominated the throws, putting Tigers on all eight spots of the podium in the shot put and taking the top three spots in the hammer.

Damien Ortiz won the shot put with a mark of 16.12 meters, while Omar Sanchez followed in second at 15.45 meters. Jace Collins took third (14.69 meters), while Brody Henderson was right on his tail in fourth (14.60 meters). James Padilla (14.38 meters, fifth) and Aydeen Nava (14.33 meters, sixth) were neck-and-neck, while Kyle Amaral (14.00 meters, seventh) also passed 14 meters. Zolan Frank (13.95 meters, eighth) rounded out the scorers for RCC, which also saw Justin Camacho take ninth with a mark of 13.40 meters.

Joey Garcia won the hammer with a mark of 50.01 meters, while five other Tigers joined him on the podium. Sanchez took second with a toss of 49.86 meters, while Frank finished in third at 48.80 meters. Lorenzo Smith grabbed fifth with a mark of 45.96 meters and Nava followed in sixth at 42.88 meters. Collins rounded out the scorers with a throw of 40.18 meters to take eighth.

Joshua West got the running events off on a good footing with a first-place finish in the 3K steeplechase, clocking in at 10 minutes, 0.68 seconds. Teammate Dyeem Tolbert was right on his tail in 10:01.06 to take second, while Dillon Burhop finished in third with a time of 10:49.63. Ivan Dorantes (10:55.32, fourth), Angel Gomez (11:00.57, fifth) and Vincent Price (11:45.45, seventh) rounded out the scorers for RCC.

Luis Mier won the 10K in 33:40.29 to cap off the night, while West took fourth in 35:37.87. Diego Tierrafria posted a time of 35:54.78 to take sixth, Alexander Mota took seventh in 36:08.14, while Jason Gomez finished in eighth with a time of 36:33.29.

Mateo De La Parra grabbed second in the javelin with a mark of 48.25 meters, while Logan Choe followed in third place with a hurl of 45.52 meters. Jacob Tyree (41.99 meters), James Henderson (41.45 meters), and Stefan Obinger (37.07 meters) also scored for the Tigers.

Aden Johnson and Michael Ferro secured their spots in next week's 110-meter hurdles finale after each Tiger won his heat. Johnson posted the best time of the day (15.24 seconds), while Ferro grabbed his automatic qualifier with a time of 15.74 seconds. Ryan Watson (15.81 seconds) will also be in the mix for the championship after posting the third-best time of the day.

Five Tigers also earned their spot in the 400-meter championship race, led by Orlando Collins, who posted a time of 48.29 seconds to win his heat. Lance Durazo won his heat in 49.07 seconds, while Jared Schulte picked up a win in his heat with a time of 49.67 seconds. Semaj Johnson (49.53 seconds) and Ryan Babino (50.20 seconds) will also compete for the championship.

Matthew Lollino secured his chance to compete for the 100-meter dash championship with the best time of the day: 10.54 seconds. Aaron Lujan won his heat in 10.91 seconds, while Artyon Celestine posted a time of 10.96 seconds to win his heat and join his teammates in the championship race. Gage McCorkell will also compete after posting the seventh-best time of the day (11:04 seconds).

Six Tigers will race in the 800-meter finale. Martin Sandoval and Alex Wesolowski each won their heats in respective times of 1:58.36 and 1:59.05 to advance to next week. Anthony Silva (1:57.27), Cesar Martinez (1:59.76), Tolbert (2:00.08), and Nathan Luce (2:00.66) also secured a spot in the finale.

Four RCC hurdlers will compete for the 400-meter hurdle championship: Ahkil McClellan (56.08 seconds), Johnson (55.35 seconds), Ferro (57.01 seconds), and Daniel Hoover (57.38 seconds).

Orlando Collins posted the best time in the 200-meter race to secure his spot in next week's championship, clocking in at 21.22 seconds. Joining him in the finale are Lujan (21.85 seconds), Schulte (21.94 seconds), Durazo (22.00 seconds), and Lollino (22.10 seconds).

RCC hosts the OEC Championship next Friday, beginning at 10 a.m.