Pirate men place second overall at OEC Track Championships
RIVERSIDE -- Orange Coast College men's track and field took on the best of the best in the Orange Empire Conference and finished second overall at the 2017 OEC Track and Field Championships, hosted by Riverside College, this past weekend.
With 13 top-three performances over the two-week event, the Pirates finished runner-up to defending OEC champion Riverside City College (338) with 177.5 points, ahead of Saddleback (98), Fullerton (64), Golden West (60.5) and Santa Ana (32).
Among the many standout efforts for the Pirates throughout the two-week event, distance specialist Danny Dominguez put in some serious mileage on his shoes. The sophomore competed in the 10,000-meter run and had to battle it out with Santa Ana College's Paulina Sanchez all the way down to the finish line. Finally, Dominguez found that extra burst of energy and pulled away to win the OEC title with a time of 32 minutes, 58.49 seconds, less than one second ahead of Sanchez, who clocked in at 32:59.54.
Dominugez also took on the top distance runners of the conference in the 5,000 and again battled his way down to the finish line with Sanchez and RCC's Michael Simpson. In the end, Simpson topped both and came in with a time of 15:28.69, just ahead of Dominguez (15:29.04) and Sanchez (15:31.29).
Another Pirate who pulled more than his own share was freshman Alixander Morse, who opened the event competiting in the decathlon and topping the field with 4,932 points. Morse earned first-place marks in the 100 (12.07), 400 (52.37), 100 hurdles (16.06) and 1,500 (4:41.75).
In addition to his busy first week, Morse also took part in the 400 hurdles and won the individual title with a time of 55.17. He also earned the silver medal in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.31.
Another individual OEC title for the Pirates came in the 400, where freshman Austin Brown edged out Saddleback's Nicholas Van Viet (48.98) at the finish line for a winning time of 48.47.
Sprinter Gabe Warner earned a pair of silver medals in the 100 (10.75) and 200 (21.63), being edged in both events by RCC's Jonathan Essien (10.7 and 21.6). Teammate Terrence Chester earned the bronze in the 200 with a time of 22.03.
Finally, both of OCC's relay teams picked up silver medals, finishing second in the 400 relay (42.55) and the 1,600 relay (3:23.46).
Up next for the Pirates will be the Southern California Regional Meet, set for May 6 (prelims) and May 13 (finals), beginning at 9 a.m. at San Bernardino Valley College.
