Track and Field: Viking men fourth, women fifth at SCC Finals; advance 24 to SoCal Championships

The Long Beach City College track and field program will be well represented at the Southern California Championships after the Viking men finished fourth while the women were fifth at the 2015 South Coast Conference Championship finals on Saturday at Cerritos College.

More importantly, Long Beach advanced 20 individuals and all four relays to next Saturday's (May 2) Southern California Championships preliminaries meet, also at Cerritos College.

The Long Beach men totaled 70 points on its way to eight top-five finishes at the SCC Finals. Sophomore Jose Ochoa in the javelin (47.90 meters) and freshman Jared Jones in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:35.63) both led LBCC with second-place finishes.

The LBCC men will send 15 on to the SoCal Regional prelims. Freshman Damond Burns will be busy next week, as he qualified in both the 100 and 200 meters. He will also team with Anterio Bateman, Jordan Noble, and Jacob Thorton for the 4x100-meter relay. Burns, along with Phillip Powell, Noble, and Travis Thomas will also compete in the 4x400-meter relay.

Sophomore Omar Torres (5,000 & 10,000 meters) as well as Powell (1,500 & 800 meters) are both double qualifiers for LBCC.

On the women's side, Long Beach totaled 39 points thanks to six top-five finishes. Sophomore Danasia Richard had a pair of third-place finishes at the SCC Finals in the 100 meters (12.43) and the high jump (1.46 meters) to lead LBCC. Freshman Chantel Dunson also posted a third-place showing, leaping to 10.91 meters in the triple.

The Long Beach women will send nine to the SoCal prelims. Richard leads the Vikings, competing in a total of five events. She moves on in the 100 and 200 meters as well as in the high jump. She will also team up with Dunson, Deborahnay Love, and Sharone Nora for the 4x100-meter relay. In the 4x400, Richard joins Love, Malika Spencer, and Dunson in the meet's final event.

Dunson is also a double qualifier, moving on in the 200 meters and the triple jump as well as Love in the 400 meters and the long jump.

It's been an impressive turn around for both the LBCC men's and women's programs under head coaches Bayano Kamani and Karen Vigilant-Goodman. Last season, the LBCC men failed to score a point at the conference finals while the women managed just three points to finish eighth.

Complete SCC Championship results/SoCal qualifiers list below:

South Coast Conference Championships
Finals Results – April 25, 2015

Men – 4^th place, 70 points
*- Southern California Championships qualifier (15)
*Damond Burns, 100 meters, 7^th, 11:08
*Damond Burns, 200 meters, 3^rd, 21.85
*Phillip Powell, 800 meters, 3^rd, 1:56.26
*Justin Weaver, 1,500 meters, 5^th, 4:05.64
*Phillip Powell, 1,500 meters, 7^th, 4:07.89
Tylor Wallace, 1,500 meters, 10^th, 4:17.83
Jordan Horton, 1,500 meters, 12^th, 4:21.18
*Omar Torres, 5,000 meters, 5^th, 15:40.44
Jared Jones, 5,000 meters, 15^th, 16:31.91
Jordan Horton, 5,000 meters, 18^th, 17:03.90
Taylor Leon, 5,000 meters, 22^nd, 17:25.12
Tylor Wallace, 5,000 meters, 24^th, 17:50.85
Christian Jezina, 5,000 meters, 26^th, 18:00.64
*Omar Torres, 10,000 meters, 7^th, 33:40.00
*Bayron Manuel, 110-meter hurdles, 5^th, 14.99
*Travis Thomas, 400-meter hurdles, 3^rd, 54.12
*Kedrick Miller, 400-meter hurdles, 7^th, 57.96
*Jared Jones, 3000-meter steeplechase, 2^nd, 9:35.63
*4x100 meter relay (Anterio Bateman, Jordan Noble, Damond Burns, Jacob Thorton), 3^rd, 42.06
*4x400 meter relay team (Damond Burns, Phillip Powell, Jordan Noble, Travis Thomas), 3^rd, 3:19.54
*Jacob Thorton, high jump, 5^th, 1.87m
Jordan Noble, long jump, 10^th, 5.87m
Damond Burns, long jump, 12^th, 5.63m
*Jose Ochoa, javelin, 2^nd, 47.90m

Women – 5^th place, 39 points
*- Southern California Championships qualifier (9)
*Danasia Richard, 100 meters, 3^rd, 12.43
*Danasia Richard, 200 meters, 5^th, 25.59
*Chantel Dunson, 200 meters, 6^th, 25.64
*Deborahnay Love, 400 meters, 6^th, 1:02.48
Malika Spencer, 800 meters, 8^th, 2:32.46
Malika Spencer, 1,500 meters, 10^th, 5:41.61
Asia Muldrow, 1,500 meters, 12^th, 5:47.55
Alexus Quezada, 5,000 meters, 18^th, 22:56.34
*4x100 meter relay (Chantel Dunson, Danasia Richard, Deborahnay Love, Sharone Nora), 3^rd, 48.92
*4x400 meter relay (Deborahnay Love, Malika Spencer, Danasia Richard, Chantel Dunson), 4^th, 4:12.45
*Danasia Richard, high jump, 3^rd, 1.46m
*Deborahnay Love, long jump, 10^th, 4.85m
*Chantel Dunson, triple jump, 3^rd, 10.91m
Jocelyn Ochoa, discus, 12^th, 22.01m
Jocelyn Ochoa, hammer, 11^th, 20.49m
Jocelyn Ochoa, javelin, 14^th, 21.75m
Linda Izabal, javelin, 15^th, 12.38m