Track & Field Competes against Division I Talent and Thrives

It is something that an avid sports fan rarely sees in any form of competition – a community college competing against NCAA Division I institutions. A true "David versus Goliath" story, one may say.

But who truly believes that a community college can compete, let alone defeat, the big dogs of a Division I institution. Right?

Wrong.

The Riverside City College track & field team has competed against a handful of Division I schools for the past two years and has proven to not only hang with the some of the best in the country at the collegiate level, but set the standard for excellence.

It was the men's track and field team that accomplished that feat today as seen in a victory over UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State San Marcos, Azusa Pacific, Cal Baptist and Arizona Christian.

The Tigers earned a total points mark of 201, edging out second place finisher Cal State Fullerton who worked towards a mark of 169. UC Riverside placed third with a points mark of 97.5.

Freshman tandem Mohamed Mohammed and Matthew Liebermann finished consecutively in the 800 M. Mohammed reeled in the gold with a time of 1:54.25, while Liebermann followed with a clip of 1:58.20.

Sophomore Enrique Villa held down the 1500 M with a mark of 4:01.29 to place third overall.

Freshman Jabriel Smith was one hundredth of a second from finishing first in the 100 M by crossing the finish line with a mark of 10.55. Sophomore Donovan Wilson behind him in fifth place at a time of 10.97.

Sophomore Jamal Palmer placed third in the 200 M with a time of 21.85, while freshman Daniel Smith followed him in fourth place with a mark of 22.26.

The 4 x 400 M Relay consisting of sophomores Phil Griggs, Antonio Mitchell, Keylan Dennis and Keanon Dennis recorded the fast time at 3:17.51 to take first place.

Sophomore Alec Jones highlighted the throws as he placed first in the Hammer with a mark reading 177' 1". He followed by placing second in the Discus with a mark of 164' 2". Sophomore Marcos Gonzalez got a taste of the old in the Javelin by chucking a meet-best mark of 186' 10".

Sophomore Justin Reed placed third in the High Jump at a mark reading 5' 11.5".

"I'm really proud of my guys and how they performed against University completion," said Head Coach Jim McCarron. "They're starting to come together as a team, but we have a lot of work to do to get to the level we want to be."

The women placed fourth on the day with a total points tally of 87. Freshman Madeline Corner had one of the strongest finishes on the team as she placed second in the 400 M hurdles with a time of 1:03.94.

The 4 x 100 M Relay team consisting of freshman Mariah Allain, freshman Annayah Pelt, freshman Alana Wilson and sophomore Alondra Gonzalez earned a time of 47.10 to win second place.