Tigers Men's Tracksters Win Tenth Consecutive OEC Championship
COSTA MESA -- Winning another six events for a total of 11 wins of the 21 events, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's track and field team won its tenth consecutive Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championships Finals which were held at Orange Coast College (Apr. 29).
Riverside City compiled a total of 416.83 points easily outdistancing the rest of the competition. Host Orange Coast finished a distant second (196.83 points), followed by third-place Saddleback (126), fourth-place Fullerton (33), fifth-place Golden West (15.33) and Santa Ana (one point).
RCC's total of 416.83 points is the second-highest in OEC history. (The record is 441 points by the RCC men's 2013 team.) In 2015, RCC had a now third-highest point total of 380.
Of the six individual events won by RCC, a pair of Tigers each won a pair of events: freshman Joshua Silva (Corona / Corona HS '15) -- who is pictured -- won the 800-meter run (1:55.59) and the 1500-meter run (4:05.90), and freshman Christopher Brown (Desert Hot Springs HS) won the discus throw (45.56 meters) and the hammer throw (51.25 meters).
Additionally, RCC sophomore Wyatt Staggers (Lakeside HS) won the 100-meter dash (:11.57) and freshman Jahvad McDermott (Redlands / Redlands HS '14) won the triple jump (14.81 meters).
Riverside City will next prepare for the SoCal Preliminaries which will be held on Friday, May 6, at Antelope Valley College beginning at 9 a.m. The SoCal Finals will be held on Friday-Saturday, May 13-14, also at Antelope Valley College, beginning at 9 a.m.
Looking ahead, the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Championships will be held on Friday-Saturday, May 20-21, at San Diego Mesa College, beginning at 10 a.m.
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At the end of the OEC Preliminaries last Friday (Apr. 22), RCC individuals had won five of the seven events at OCC, Riverside City led with 155 points.
Of those five events where a RCC Tiger has won a conference champion, three events were won by the same man.
RCC freshman Anthony John Soriano (Santa Ana / Eastvale - Eleanor Roosevelt HS '13) won the long jump (7.25 meters), the high jump (1.97 meters), and the javelin (49.08 meters).
Also winning an OEC crown from RCC were freshman Michael Simpson (Moreno Valley / Canyon Springs HS '15) in 3000-meter steeplechase (9:39.35) and freshman James Jones (Bremerton, WA / Olympic [WA} HS '11) in the shot put (15.71 meters).
"I was really pleased with today's (Apr. 22) results," said ninth-year RCC head men's track and field coach Jim McCarron. "John Soriano did a great job setting the stage for the team by winning three individual conference titles and the team's focus is where it needs to be during this time of the season."
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https://www.directathletics.com/results/track/45616.html
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