ORANGE - One point made all the difference for the Dons at the 2012 Orange Empire Conference Championships as they qualified for the Southern California Regional Championships, just ahead of Golden West College and Riverside City College.

Running at their home park, Irvine Regional Park, the Dons placed four of their five scorers in the top-30 with their final runner making the seemingly biggest impact. With Alicia Sotelo scoring in 14th and Quetzalin Tepayotl finishing in 15th place, the Dons needed big performances from their next three runners.

Cecilia Chavez scored in 23rd place ahead of Elisa Mendez in 29th place, placing the team's fate on the legs of Yulma Gonzalez. Needing to place in the top-5 to secure a trip to the SoCal Finals, Gonzalez came in seven seconds ahead of Riverside's fifth-place finisher, placing her in 35th place while giving the Dons the one-point edge.

Golden West College's top-four runners gave the Rustlers a lead over the Dons, but their fifth-place finisher crossed the finish line in 43rd place, moving the Rustlers into a tie for fifth-place with Riverside.

Overall, the conference championship belonged to Orange Coast College as the Pirates placed the meet's top-four runners. Second-place Fullerton College spoiled the Pirates chance at a perfect score with its top runner taking fifth place while host Santiago Canyon College claimed third place as a team.

NEXT: The Dons take on Southern California on Saturday, November  3 at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa at 11:00 a.m.