Dons Host 2019 OEC Prelims, Championships set for Friday

Dons Host 2019 OEC Prelims, Championships set for Friday

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Last Friday, the Santa Ana College track & field program played host to five visiting schools as they competed in the 2019 Orange Empire Conference Prelims.

Andres Ramirez was the first to compete for the Dons as he finished seventh in the long jump event with a 6.41 meter mark. Following him was Lizandro Hernandez, who raced to a fourth place finish in the steeplechase with a time of 10:44.00.

After a quick break, Giovanni Barajas and Daniel Gonzalez took on the field in the 1,500m event. Gonzalez qualified for the finals with a third place finish in his heat and an eighth place overall finish at a time of 4:25.61. In heat number two, Bajaras led the pack as he won his heat and placed second overall with a time of 4:12.65. The two distance runners will run in the finals on Friday, April 26th.

Octavio Moreno was the lone hurdler for Santa Ana and had a solid showing as he clocked in at 15.50 to place fourth in the 110m event. Moreno has qualified for the finals and will also compete in the 400m hurdle event for Friday.

Santa Ana sprinters included Kara Latimore and Anthony Farley. Lattimore raced on the 100m and clocked in a 13.61 for fifth place in her heat. She also ran in the 200m, running to a time of 27.72 for another fifth place finish for her heat. On the men's side, Farley also came in fifth for heat number three with a time of 11.44.

Next, Monique Azpeitia got her chance to run as she battled her way to a third place overall finish during the 800m event. Azpeitia hit a time of 2:33.00 to advance to the OEC finals.

Maria Marroquin and Giovanni Barajas represented the Dons in the 10,000m event to wrap up the day. Marroquin ran her way to a 10th place finish with a time of 43:46.75 while Barajas was neck and neck with the leaders until the end as he dropped to third place with a time of 35:32.67.

NEXT UP

Santa Ana College will host the 2019 Orange Empire Conference Championships on Friday, April 26th. Field events are set to start at 8:00 a.m. while running events begin at 2:00 p.m.