Track and field: OCC send several to state championship

COSTA MESA - Orange Coast College’s men’s and women’s track and

field team qualified several of its athletes for Saturday’s Southern

California Prelims at Santa Barbara. A couple of OCC standouts also got

themselves into the state championships, scheduled for May 18-20 at

Bakersfield.

OCC’s women’s team is led by Costa Mesa product and sophomore Zoila

Gomez. On Saturday, she set the school and conference record in the

10,000-meter run with a 36:27.

The standings in the 10,000 was a familiar one for OCC as Bernice

Carbajal was second to teammate Gomez. Both qualified for the Southern

California finals. The Pirates’ Heather Shurtleff ran a 4:50 in the 1,500

to get in the Southern California finals, along with Gomez.

Other final qualifiers from OCC include Sinforosa Orozco and Elsa Ortega

in the 5,000, Nicole Hansen in the pole vault and Costa Mesa alumnus

Tiffany Cordova in the javelin.

OCC’s men’s team will send eight to the Southern California finals.

Former Estancia runner Juan Sanchez qualified for the State Championships

in the 10,000. He placed fourth with a 31:31. He also moves on to the

Southern California finals in the 5,000.

Chris Monachelli and Jose Magana gives OCC two runners in Saturday’s

3,000 steeplechase. Troy Becker and Steven Taelman both qualified for the

finals in the pole vault, Carl Olsson in the 110-high hurdles, and Costa

Mesa product Richard Price in the javelin.