Orange Coast College

Track and Field: OCC women take fourth in SoCals; Pirate men finish ninth

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

WALNUT -- With a spot at the upcoming State Meet at stake, several members of the Orange Coast College track and field team performed well against the best in the area at last weekend's Southern California Regional Meet, held at Mt. San Antonio College.

On the women's side, the Pirates finished fourth as a team with 69 1/3 points, while the OCC men took ninth overall with 30 points.

Leading the way for the Coast women was distance standout Cassie Mitchell. Last year's defending state champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase continued her dominance in the event, topping her own school record with a winning time of 10 minutes, 57.1 seconds. Last year, she became OCC's first-ever sub-11-minute runner in the event, clocking in at 10:59.39 at the State Meet.

In addition, Mitchell also earned a spot at next week's State Meet in the 5,000 with a runner-up time of 18:14.73. The top four times in lane events qualify for State, in addition to top-six in non-lane events and top-six in field events.

OCC teammate Kimone Hewitt was another double-qualifier thanks to her second-place performance in the 1,500 (4:45.57) and third place showing in the 800 (2:18.78).

Joining Mitchell and Hewitt will be all-around athlete Liana Fuentes, who finished fifth in the high jump (5 feet, 3 inches) and fifth in the heptathlon (4,058 points).

Other Pirate women who earned a trip to San Mateo for the State Meet include Audrey Crouse in the pole vault (fourth, 10-7), Brianna Vanderwal in the heptathlon (fourth, 4,060 points), Jade Leblanc in the pole vault (fifth, 10-7), Margaret McDuffee in the 1,500 (sixth, 4:47.52) and Kristen Simek in the 5,000 (sixth, 18:29.2).

On the men's side, a pair of Pirates -- Donovan Toban and Eric Grunbaum -- will join the OCC women in San Mateo next weekend thanks to their performances at the SoCal Meet.

Toban, who competed in several events throughout the weekend, qualified for state in the triple jump with a runner-up mark of 49-11.

Grunbaum, one of OCC's top throwers, finished third and qualified for state in the shot put with a mark of 51-5 1/4.

Complete results of the Southern California Regional Meet can be found by clicking HERE.