Riverside Grabs Second at SoCal Regional
Riverside City College took second as a team at the SoCal Regional Championship Meet Friday, finishing with 151 total points. The Tigers also saw 25 individuals qualify for the 3C2A Championship, held May 18-19 at Saddleback College.
The top four runners from each regional (North and South) – plus the next fastest time – earned their spots in the 3C2A State Championship, while the top six finishers in field events and the 3K steeplechase also advanced to State.
Ernesto Ruiz won the 3K steeplechase with a time of nine minutes, 19.63 seconds to earn his spot in the 3C2A championship next week. Despite taking seventh overall with a time of 9:45.56, Kailil O'Brien also advanced to the State meet after securing an A-standard time.
Ruiz will also compete for the 5K State title after taking third at the regional with a time of 14:59.69, which was just .07 seconds behind second place.
The Tigers' 4x100 team (Marcellus Linton, Elijah Davis, Jacob Petrick and Kai Fowlkes) finished runner-up with a time of 41.37 seconds to advance to State. RCC's 4x400 team of Linton, Petrick, Tchaikovsky Brown, and Davis also qualified after finishing in 3:18.79, which was the fifth-fastest time in the South but was faster than all the 4x400 teams in the North.
Linton qualified for a third event after taking second in the 200-meter with a time of 21.65 seconds, while Brown earned his spot in the 110-meter hurdles after taking fourth in 14.59 seconds.
Christian Burroughs won the hammer with a hurl of 52.94 meters, while Isaiah Butler grabbed third (48.67 meters) and Adam Torres took fifth (46.35 meters) to also qualify for the 3C2A Hammer Championship.
Edward Ta'amilo won the discus by two meters, posting a throw of 51.16 meters to earn his spot in next week's championship. Butler followed in second place with a mark of 49.86 meters, while Burroughs took fifth and Cody Gourlay grabbed sixth with respective throws of 45.26 and 42.99 meters. It puts four Tigers competing for the State title next week.
Justice Brown won the shot put regional title with a toss of 15.44 meters, while Ta'amilo took second with a mark of 15.09 meters. Burroughs earned his spot in his third 3C2A Championship event after finishing in fifth place with a throw of 14.50 meters.
Two Tigers qualified for State in the high jump after Bryson Williamson took third (2.00 meters) and Zachary Owns finished sixth (1.90 meters).
Quinten Flowers secured his spot in next week's meet with a third-place finish in the triple jump after posting a mark of 14.56 meters. Devyn Smith will join him after taking fifth with a jump of 14.16 meters, which was good for fifth place.