Pirates finish ninth overall at State Meet
FRESNO -- The Orange Coast College men's cross country team finished off the 2023 season at the right place .. the 3C2A Men's Cross Country State Championships. There, the Pirates capped off a strong campaign with a ninth-place finish against the best of the best from the State of California on Nov. 18.
In spite of a pair of top runners out with injury and illness, Coast cracked the top-10 with a team score of 306. Mt. San Antonio won the state title with 49 points, followed by San Diego Mesa (54) and Bakersfield (134).
Freshman Jimmy Dominguez, OCC's top runner all season long, overcame an early fall in the race and still managed to be Coast's first runner through the finish line, finishing 36th overall with a time of 21:24.7.
Sophomore Viencent Luong-Kha wrapped up his cross country career at OCC with a top-50 state finish, placing 49th overall with a time of 21:37.5.
Other top runners for the Pirates include Lance Copp (21:44.1), Carlos Ramos (21:57.8), Caden Guardino (22:40.6), Farhaan Safi (22:46.8) and William Spangler (24:33.7).
Coast will only lose three of this year's top seven runners for the 2024 season and the future is really looking bright for the Pirates next year. "With some good recruiting, we are looking to challenge for the state title next year," OCC head coach Marco Ochoa said. "This was an enjoyable season with many improvements by each member of both teams, great team chemistry and a lot to look forward to in track season this spring and XC next year."
