Tigers Three-peat in Southern California Championships; Head to Mt. San Antonio for State Championships, May 16-17
RIVERSIDE -- The Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's track and field squad won its third straight California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Championship, posting 170 points to win at its home facility.
It was the first time that Riverside had hosted the SoCal Championships.
"Winning this meet at home was special for the guys because we got to do it on our track and field," said RCC head track and field coach Jim McCarron. "They really stepped up to the occasion and put on a good show for the home crowd," added McCarron.
The Mt. San Antonio College (MSAC) Mounties scored 134 points to place second, while the Cerritos College Falcons took third with 94 points.
Just'n Thymes and Connor Einck led the way for the Tigers.
McCarron had plenty of high praise for the Tigers. To wit:
"Just'n (Thymes, pictured above) won both the 100 meters in (a RCC record) :10.19 and the 200 meters in :20.5. He also ran a :45.98 split in the Tigers' winning 4x400 relay and helped the 4x100 squad take second with a time of 40.75.
"Connor Einck threw a state-leading mark of 57'10" in the shot put and won the discus throw with toss of 169'8" to take both So Cal titles," continued McCarron. "Ryan Kent had a strong meet as well with second-place finishes in both the hammer throw and discus throw. Ryan is currently ranked second in the state in the hammer and 5th in discus.
"Keithyon Moten came on strong at the end in the 110HH to take the title, clocking :14.48. Phillip Bailey took the So Cal title in the Decathlon with a score of 6,762 points and he also qualified in the 110HH with a time of :14.95. In the 400IH, both Jacob Porter and Zack Lewis easily qualified to the state championships, with both running 52 seconds and earning second and third places, respectively.
"Travis Schulte continued to surprise the competition by high jumping 6'7" for the second week in a row and punching his ticket to state with a fifth-place finish in the high jump. A.J. Hop took fourth in the pole vault to easily qualify for next weekend's state championship, which will be held at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut on Friday-Saturday, May 16-17."
As a sidenote, the CCCAA Men's and Women's State Championships will be the final event to be held at MSAC's Hilmer Lodge Stadium before the facility undergoes a two- to three-year renovation. Over the next two years, the world famous MSAC Relays will be held at UCLA.
Full results of the So Cal Championships can be found on www.directathletics.com and www.finishedresults.com
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