Men’s Track & Field Earns Victory in Conference Opener

The Riverside City College men's track and field team hosted the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Invitational to kick of conference action at home on Friday. The Tigers unleashed a deadly roster that saw 13 first-place showings totaling 329 points en route to a commanding performance.

Riverside bested two conference opponenet that featured Orange Coast (189) and Saddleback (77).

The Tigers set the tone in the throws events with Donal Aluesi earning the top spot in the Discus (153' 2") and the Shot Put (47' 11.25"). Isaac Valdez followed by placing third in the Hammer (110' 10"), while Ismael Valdez followed with a third place showing in the Javelin (128' 10").

The jump events continued to earn the Tigers huge points with Novye James placing first overall in the Long Jump (23' 1.25"). Lathan Darius Hill (22' 10.75") and Brandon Benson (22' 5") finished behind James, respectively, to earn second and third place. Benson followed with a fist place finish in the Triple Jump (44' 4.75").

Collin Orlando held it down on the Pole Vault (13' 11.25') with a first place finish.

The distance runners were on point for the Tigers as they saw three first place finishes Abel Ramos earned the top spot in the 5000 M (15:37.87), while Gavyn Condit followed in second place (15:38.17). David Rush earned the gold medal in the 3000 M Steeplechase (10:19.55), while Mario Tavares placed first overall in the 1500 M (4:03.78). Kyle Reden finished right behind him to earn second place (4:09.68).

Hayden Palma had a strong day after placing first in the 110 M Hurdles (16.10) followed by a second place finish in the 400 M Hurdles (56.60). Matthew Siggins earned the gold in the 110 M Hurdles (15.22), while Michael Holland matched his gold medal efforts in the 800 M (1:59.8). He followed with a third place finish in the 400 M Hurdles (57.14) as well.

Gonzalo Sanchez earned two podium finishes by placing third in the 1500 M (4:11.12) and the 800 M (2:00.40).