Championship Recap: De Anza Finishes Among State's Elite
The De Anza College's Track & Field teams solidified its prowess among the state's best during the 2024 championships at Saddleback College, May 10-11. The DA men's team finished as the North's top program (placing fourth overall), while the women's team placed among the top five in the region (No. 13 overall).
Story excerpts from Fred Baer: MISSION VIEJO – Mt. San Antonio College pulled off its double 3-peat at the 3C2A Track and Field Championships at Saddleback College on Saturday, winning both women's and men's team titles for a third straight season.
Mt. SAC had 199 points on the men's side, followed by Riverside (114), and San Diego Mesa (74). Others included: 4. De Anza, 49; 5. Moorpark, 35; 6. Modesto, 33; 7. Chabot, 27; 8. Santa Rosa, 24; 9. Sacramento and Fresno, 17 each. There were 33 scoring teams.
Ernesto Ruiz of Riverside resolved a 3,000-meter steeplechase duel with Antoine Moret of De Anza, moving to the lead with just over two laps to go and taking the victory in 9:05.40 – an impressive double after winning the 10,000 meters on Friday night. Moret finished second in 9:10.72 and Jacob Mendiola of San Bernardino Valley took bronze in 9:22.56.
Kai Burich of De Anza had an opening round hammer throw of 183-6 to start Saturday's field event competition and that was good for the gold medal. Christian Burroughs of Riverside had a fourth round throw of 180-5 for second place. Nicholas Clemons of San Joaquin Delta threw 167-4 in the fifth round to claim bronze.
Edward Ta'amilo of Riverside added three-quarters of an inch to his season-leading state shot put lead, reaching 54-5 1/4 on his second effort to take control of the event. Jake Troxell of Golden West claimed silver at 50-4 1/2 and Mateo Garcia of De Anza was third at 50-1 1/4. Ta'amilo, the only returning men's champion, repeated in the discus throw, reaching 178-0 on his sixth and final effort. That relegated Liam Brennan of De Anza to second place at 175-6. Isaiah Butler of Riverside finished third at 159-0.
Isabella Popeoy of San Joaquin Delta equaled her state season-leading hammer throw mark of 178-0 on her second attempt to win the gold medal. Abigail Gavrilovic of Orange Coast took second at 162-2 and Ningning O'Brien of De Anza was third at 160-5.
Complete results at: https://files.finishedresults.com/Track2024/Meets/11882-2024-3C2A-TF-State-Championships.html
Other De Anza highlights:
- Joselin Joya Camacho ran the sixth fastest time in De Anza history to finish eighth overall in the 10,000 - earning her All-State honors. Teammate Mackenzie MacDonald placed 11th.
- The DA women's 4x1 team earned two points in a seventh-place run (48.69 season-best) - which was fourth among North teams.
- Jeffrey O'Brien posted a school record in the decathlon with 6,253 points (Dylan Bouzigues, 6,200 in 2019).
- Ningning O'Brien is a two-time All-American (discus, 2nd; hammer, 3rd).
- Sam Betz 6th in the javelin
- Mia Tarkinton 8th in the 800
- Jeffrey O'Brien 8th in discus
- Daniel Chen 6th place in the 110 hurdles
- Amariah Davidson 7th place in the 400
- Antoine Moret 5th place in the 5000
- Eion Daley 7th in the 800
- Women's 4x400 Relay 8th place