Riverside Track & Field Qualifies 29 Total Athletes to Compete for State Title
The Riverside City College track & field team recently placed second in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional finals this past Saturday. With the Tiger's second-place finish, the will compete at the CCCAA State Championships in Bakersfield, CA beginning this Friday, May 18th. The men qualified 19 athletes with nine athletes competing in multiple events, while the women qualified 10 athletes with five athletes competing in multiple events.
The men have made a permanent imprint on the state rankings this season as seen in multiple events and categories spread about the track. Freshman Antonio Mitchell highlights the speedsters by qualifying for the 100M and the 200M. He comes in with a seed time of 10.46 in the 100M and a top-seed time in the 200M at 21.13.
The 200M is stacked with Tigers as there are four runners slated behind Mitchell. Freshman Keylan Dennis has the third-best seed time with a mark of 21.38. Freshman Jamal Palmer follows with a time of 21.42, while Keanon Dennis and Christopher Shiley follow with seed times of 21.64 and 21.88, respectfully.
Key. Dennis will compete twice at the state championships as he holds the top-seed time in the 400M with his mark reading at 46.86. Kea. Dennis follows with a mark of 47.37, backed by Shiley's clip of 47.66.
Sophomore Alec Hall will compete in two events as he holds the top seed time in the 800M with a mark of 1:52.93. He also holds the second-best time in the 1500M with mark of 4:00.05. Freshman Delton Woods earned the third-strongest mark in the 800M with a time of 1:54.04.
Freshman Enrique Villa will compete for gold in two events as he earned a qualifying seed time of 1:59.20 in the 800M and a 4:02.24 mark in the 1500M. Sophomore Ricardo Cardenas will join Villa and Hall in the 1500M with a mark of 4:00.85.
Freshman Austin Dai will strap it up for a pair of events with his strongest time coming in the 5,000M with a mark of 15:30.07. He will then compete in the 10,000M with a time of 33:02.46. Sophomore Michael Robinson will join him in the 10,000M with a seed time of 32:45.14.
Sophomore Jeffery Robbins and freshman Christian Nunez earned the sixth and seventh seed time in the 3000M Steeplechase, respectfully. Robbins comes in with a mark of 9:33.86, while Nunez earned a clip of 9:34.34.
Riverside also boasts the two strongest times in the relays. They come in with a 4 x 100M Relay time of 40.65 and a 4 x 400M Relay mark of 3:11.69.
The Tigers have a strong representation in the field events as they qualified at least one athlete in six events.
Freshman Alec Jones leads the pack as he qualifies for a trio of events. His best mark comes in the Discus with a seed mark of 156' 3". He follows with a 46' 2.75" mark in the Shot put and a 164' 6" in the Hammer. Sophomore Jordon Davis comes in as the strongest thrower with the third-best seed mark in the Discus with a chuck reading 163' 10". He ranks fourth in the Shot Put with a distance of 49' 2.5"as well.
Freshman tandem Marcos Gonzalez and Jonathon Garibay will compete in the Javelin as they hold the ninth and 11th seed marks, respectfully. Gonzalez enters in owning a slight edge on his teammate with a mark of 173', while Garibay owns a mark of 163' 7".
Freshman Baylee Carter will compete for the gold in the High Jump with a seed mark of 6' 4.75". Sophomore Tyler Lufkin will compete in the Decathlon with a total points mark of 5,535.
The women have just as strong of a representation as they qualified for a handful of events.
Freshman Maryjane Smith highlights the sprinting squad by qualifying for two events. She holds the eighth-best seed time in the 200M with a mark of 25.75, while holding a the fourth-best seed time in the 400M at 56.59. Sophomore Dehjiah Joseph will race for a medal in the 400M Hurdles with a seed time of 64.49.
Both relays qualified as the Tigers earned the third-strongest time in the 4 x 100M Relay at 48.68 and the second-best time in the 4 x 400M at 3:53.40.
Sophomore Sarah Hollis will hold down the distance events by qualifying for a pair of events. Her strongest mark comes in the 3000M Steeplechase with a time of 11:30.93. She also earned the seventh-best time of 18:59.02 in the 5,000M. Sophomore Carissa Gomez will join Hollis in the 3000M Steeplechase with the ninth-strongest seed time of 12:29.23.
Riverside boast six total athletes in the field events with sophomore Ca'may Stocker leading the pack with three qualifying marks. She holds her strongest mark in the Discus with a fourth-overall seed mark of 136' 10". She follows with a seventh best mark of 39' 4.5" in the Shot Put and a 146' 9" mark in the Hammer.
Freshman Angelique Hudson earned the second overall seed in the Shot Put with a clip of 44' 11.5". Sophomore Jordaine Simmons follows with the eighth-best seed mark of 39' 3" in the Shot Put while also holding the eighth-best seed mark in the Hammer with a clip of 149' 8".
Sophomore Javany McDermott will compete in two events with her best mark coming in the High Jump with a leap of 5' 3". She will also participate in the Triple Jump with a mark of 37' .5". Sophomore Katelyn Baker follows closely behind in the Triple Jump with a mark of 36' 7.75".