Track & Field Qualify Several for SoCal at WSC Prelims Event
VENTURA, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College track & field programs had a successful showing at the Western State Conference (WSC) Prelims event, hosted by Ventura College, on Friday afternoon. |FULL RESULTS
Field events and the 10,000m races were scored as final events with the top seven finishers automatically advancing to the SoCal Prelims event in two weeks. For these events, the top three finishers earned First Team All-Conference recognition while those in 4th-6th place were Second Team All-Conference, and individuals landing at 7th-9th were All-Conference Honorable Mention. The Bulldogs had six individuals secure SoCal Prelim safety for eight individual slots at the event.
The men's team closed out the preliminary meet at the top of the standings through a field of 11 scoring programs. Jacob Garbiso headlined the day with a pair of conference champion titles in the discus (40.10m) and the shot put (13.71m). Chris Sapey secured a runner-up nod in the discus (36.35m) while Esequiel Gauna took third in the shot put (12.46m) and seventh in discus (32.19m). Juan Santiago also qualified for the SoCal meet after securing a sixth place finish in the 10k with a final time of 32:57.19.
Abigail Aponte earned her spot at the regional meet with a fourth place finish in the shot put (9.63m), while Makayla Gonzalez advanced with a fourth place showing in the women's 10k (43:11.21).
All other events on the day served as preliminary races, with the top nine runners in the sprint events and the top twelve finishers in distance races automatically qualifying for the WSC Finals on April 25th. The remaining field events, distance events, and relay races will also take place next week at the finals to determine SoCal Prelim advancement. Hancock saw four athletes qualify for the WSC Finals, which will be hosted by Moorpark College.
SOCAL PRELIM QUALIFIERS:
- Jacob Garbiso: Discus (1st); Shot Put (1st)
- Chris Sapey: Discus (2nd)
- Esequiel Gauna: Shot Put (3rd); Discus (7th)
- Juan Santiago: 10,000m (6th)
- Abigail Aponte: Shot Put (4th)
- Makayla Gonzalez: 10,000m (4th)
WSC FINALS QUALIFIERS:
- Juan Santiago: 1,500m (9th)
- Erick Marceleno: 1,500m (10th)
- Yussif Salam (9th)
- Makayla Gonzalez: 1,500m (10th)