Photos by Bobby R. Hester
Photos by Bobby R. Hester

Track & Field Notches Strong Marks at OEC Prelims

It is difficult to find the correct adjectives to describe the the Riverside City College track and field program over the past decade plus. Dominant, competitive, high quality and consistent are jsut a few. They continued to stay true to the dominant trend as the Tigers began postseason action at the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Prelims on Friday afternoon. They continued to put up strong numbers thus earning a grip of top scores.

Riverside entered as the heavy favorite to take their 13th-consecutive dual victory. The men earned 130 total points, while the women worked towards 102.5. Both sides lead the field by a significant margin.

Freshman Maribel Madera placed first in the 3,000 M Steeplechase (12:19.96), while Aily Camacho followed in second place (12:28.53). Sophomore Sujey Esteva placed atop the standings in the 10,000 M (40:09.19).

Riverside swept the podium in the 100 M highlighted by a first place showing from Mariah Allain (12.11). Freshman Alana Wilson (12.23) and Victoria Williams (12.41) finished closely behind with strong qualifying marks.

Wilson continued her strong performance with a top mark in the 200 M (24.97), while freshman Annayah Pelt finished closely behind in second place (25.42).

Sophomore Sha'quan Matthews reigned supreme in the 100 M Hurdles (15.17) to qualify for the finals, while freshman Kaleigh Giannone earned a second place mark (16.37) to qualify.

Sophomore Karen Orozco retuned to the Pole Vault and earned a first place finish to qualify (10' 8"). Sophomore Tayler Salley put together a strong showing by placing first in the Hammer (158'8") and the Discus (125' 10").

Sophomore Enrique Villa continued his strong campaign with the top qualifying finish in the 1,500 M (4:05.66). He followed with a top mark in the 800 M (1:58.02). Freshman Mohamed Mohammed finished slightly behind Villa to earn second place (1:59.72).

Sophomore Austin Dai held down the longest distance with a first place showing in the 10,000 M (35:29.80).

Sophomore Dillion Lay remained a staple in the 110 M Hurdles by placing first (15.14) to earn a qualifying mark.  

Sophomore Antonio Mitchell continued to blaze the track by earning a first place finish in the 100 M (10.59), backed by a top finish in the 200 M (21.26). Sophomore Jamal Palmer place second (10.68) acting as the next best time, while sophomore Jabriel Smith finished in third place to earn a a qualifying mark (10.77).

Sophomores Keylan Dennis and Keanon Dennis finished in the top three in the 400 M with Key. Dennis placing first (47.75). Kea. Dennis followed with a third-place showing (48.81). Sophomore Phil Griggs earned the silver medal (48.56).