Track & Field Sweeps Podium at OEC Invitational

The Riverside City College track and field program kicked off Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action by hosting the first conference invitational of the season. Riverside acted as the goliath of the meet by routing the competition by a landslide.

The men tallied 402 points, which was 65 percent of the total meet points. The men took first in 10 of the 19 events to prove their dominance. Orange Coast was the next best finisher with 150 points, while Saddleback placed third with 69 points.

The relay teams performed at a high level by placing first overall.  Sophomore Jabriel Smith, sophomore William Dower, sophomore Corey Howland and freshman Lorenzo Boyd teamed up and placed first in the 4 x 100 M Relay (41.61). Sophomore Evan Vigrass, freshman Joseph Halman, freshman Darnell Ricardson and sophomore Mohammed Mohamed placed first in the 4 x 400 M Relay (3:23.82).

Boyd continued to reeled in the gold medal in the 100 M (11.00). Sophomore Daniel Smith placed third (11.15).

Smith, Dower and Howland swept the podium in the 200 M with Smith finishing in first place (21.76). Dower placed second (21.98) and Howland hauled in the bronze (22.24). Dower continued on and placed atop to podium in the Long Jump (23' 3.5").

The Tigers swept the hurdles events with Vigrass topped the field in the 400 M Hurdles (56.28), while freshman Matthew Siggins placed first in the 100 M Hurdles (15.36) while besting his seed time.

Sophomore Joshua Briscoe snapped the tape in the 1500 M (4:11.59), while freshman Jared Mallon finished at his heals in second place (4:12.06). Mohamed placed second in the 800 M (2:00.63).

Freshman Jeremiah Purnell held down the jumps with a top finish in the High Jump (6' 2.75"), while sophomore Adam Millett leaped to a first-place mark in the Pole Vault (13' 2.25"). Freshman Ethan Perez placed first in the Discus (48' 1.5").

The women earned their best mark of the season by accumulating 247 points en route to a top finish. They finished atop the podium in 11 events. Orange Coast was their biggest competition landing in second place with 172 points, while Saddleback earned 90 points to place third overall.

Freshman Ariana Fealofai was as dominant as ever after as she continue to pace the field. She placed first in the Shot Put (41' 10.75") and Discus (125' 6"), while placing second in the Hammer (142' 5"). Sophomore Keiana Turner hauled in the top mark in the Hammer (161' 8").

The relays held strong as the Tigers hauled in two top marks. Sophomore trio Selena Tucker, Alana Wilson, Annayah Pelt and freshman Hailey Hunt teamed up to win the 4 x 100 M Relay (47.30) by approximately four seconds. The grouping continued on to earn the gold in the 4 x 400 M Relay (3:56.60). The mark was approximately 20 better than the second-place relay team.

Hunt and Tucker placed consecutively in the 100 M with Hunt placing first (12.24). Turner hauled in the silver (12.58).

Wilson continued to keep the burners on with a top finish in the 200 M (24.73). Pelt finished right behind her (25.45), while Wright placed third overall (25.80).

Sophomore Kaleigh Giannone continued to perform at a high level with a first place finish in the 400 M Hurdles (1:09.35).Freshman Na'Kel Pennix-Webb earned a top finish in the 400 M (1:00.05) while freshman Dyana Miller finished in second place (1:00.67) by a slim margin. Freshman Ajalai Anderson was the top finisher in the Triple Jump (30' 1.5").