Posted: Jun 17, 2022

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2021-22 WARRIORS YEAR IN ATHLETICS

TORRANCE, Calif. --- On March 11, 2020, the El Camino College athletics department hosted its last event before the COVID-19 Pandemic put a halt to all athletics on campus for what would be nearly two years.

On August 27, 2021 and a lot of work and cooperation from everyone involved, the Warriors athletics program was back at work and what followed was an outstanding year in the history of the program.

FALL

Men's Soccer

The Warriors men's soccer team returned to action for the first time since 2019 and it was a year to remember. The Warriors won 10 straight matches to open the regular season and were ranked as the No. 2 team in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches of America.

The team would finish the year with a 19-5-1 overall record, which earned the Warriors the No. 3 seed in the CCCAA SoCal Regionals. The Warriors would eventually advance to the CCCAA State Championship Semifinals and finished tied for third in the state, the program's best finish since 1992.

Other highlights included:

Brandon Galindo – United Soccer Coaches' Junior College Division III First-Team All-America
Luis Garibay – South Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year
Seven players named All-SCC
Andy Cabrera and Mario Carlos named USC National Players of the Week

Women's Soccer

The Warriors had their best season since 2017 as they finished the year with a 9-9-3 overall record. The team finished with a 6-2-1 mark in conference play which helped the team clinch their first ever South Coast Conference, South Division title. It marked the program's first title since the conference split into two divisions and clinched the team's first postseason berth since the 2010 season.

In the playoffs, the Warriors defeated Santa Monica on the road in a CCCAA SoCal Regionals Play-In Game to advance to the official opening round of the playoffs against No. 3 Cypress. It marked the first postseason victory for the Warriors since 2010.

The Warriors season would end with a 2-0 loss against Cypress but set the foundation for the future with legendary head coach John Britton retiring as head coach at the conclusion of the season.

Other highlights included:

Karlee Clark named SCC Goalkeeper of the Year
John Britton and Darin Dunn named SCC Co-Head Coaches of the Year
Eight players named to the All-SCC Team; Four First Team and Four Second Team Selections

Football

The Warriors football team returned to the gridiron for the first time since 2019 and put together another solid season, culminating in another bowl victory.

The team went 6-4 during the regular season, good enough to earn the team its fourth straight bowl game appearance.

The Warriors hosted East Los Angeles in the Beach Bowl and secured a 39-24 victory, the 20th bowl win in program history. It was also the Warriors' third bowl win in the last four seasons of competition.

Other highlights of the season included:

Twelve players selected to All-Central League Team; Five First Team, Seven Second Team
Dion Moore, Beach Bowl MVP
Offense ranked No. 6 All-Time in ECC Record Book with 4,756 yards of total offense.
Stephen Bradford Jr. ranked No. 9 all-time with 973 rushing yards
Noah Guastella ranked third all-time in single-season points (83) and eighth all-time in career points (88).
Lando Brown tied for ninth all-time with nine sacks.
Dion Moore and Stephen Bradford Named All-California First Team Offense
Lando Brown and Justin Sanchez named All-California First Team Defense

Women's Water Polo

Head coach Shelby Haroldson had an excellent second year with the women's water polo program as the team reached double-digit wins for the first time in 10 years. The Warriors finished the year with a 10-12 overall record and 4-6 in conference play.

The Warriors lost to Mount San Antonio in the third-place match at the South Coast Conference championships. Despite the loss, the Warriors' fourth-place finish marked the program's best finish in conference since they finished sixth in 2012.

The team's 10 victories also marked the most since 2012 when the team went 15-11 overall.

In addition, the Warriors had four players named to the All-SCC Team; two to the first team and two to the second team.

SPRING

Badminton

El Camino College Badminton players Marina Mongaki and Julia Foster won the 2022 South Coast Conference Doubles Championship on Friday afternoon at the ECC Gym Complex.

The Warriors' top duo secured the doubles' title on Friday and, as a result, qualified for the 2022 CCCAA State Championships.

In addition to their success in doubles, Mongaki and Foster also finished second and third in the singles competition. The results helped both players qualify for the state singles competition.

Both players fell to Erica Garcia of San Diego Mesa, who secured the 2022 SCC Singles title.

Softball

The Warriors softball team advanced to the CCCAA SoCal Regionals for the sixth consecutive season. They have never missed the playoffs under head coach Jessica Rapoza, who took over the team in 2015.

The team would fall to Bakersfield in three games in the opening round of the playoffs despite taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

The Warriors had four players named to the All-SCC team with one honorable mention.

Freshman Alyssa Lujan became the eighth Warriors player to be selected to the NFCA All-American Team since the inception of the JC All-America team in 2014.

Lastly, freshman Kayla Inzunza was named to the CCCFCA All-Region Team after leading the Warriors in six offensive categories. She struck out just five times in 147 at-bats.

Baseball

The Warriors recorded a 30-win season for the third time in the last four full seasons of competition in 2022. The team recorded 40-win seasons in 2017 and 2019, both resulting in berths in the CCCAA State Championships. In 2020, the Warriors were 16-6 through 22 games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This year, the Warriors went 31-13 overall and finished third in the South Coast Conference, which earned them the No. 10 seed in the CCCAA SoCal Regionals, where they would defeat No. 7 Cuesta in two games.

The season came to an end the following round with two losses to No. 2 Glendale.

The Warriors had nine players selected to the All-SCC team; Three First Team Selections, Six Second Team Selections and one honorable mention.

Track and Field

Perhaps the most consistent highlights for the Warriors track and field squad came from two athletes; Yukina Hamachi and Dominic Britton.

Britton won the South Coast Conference title in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.75. It was the culmination of a successful run in the event throughout the season. He would go on to finish third in the event at the CCCAA State Championships.

Hamachi won the South Coast Conference title in the heptathlon with a total score of 4,260 points. She also won the title in the long jump with a mark of 5.67 meters (18 feet, 7.25 inches).

At the 2022 CCCAA State Championsihps, Hamachi recorded 4400 total points in the heptathlon to finish second overall. She set new personal bests in the 100m hurdles (14.80), high jump (4 feet, 11 inches) and the 200m (26.28).

Her 4400 points secured Hamachi the No. 2 mark on the ECC All-Time Performance List in the heptathlon.

Other highlights included:

James Neely: SCC Champion in the 400m
Sierra Stokes: SCC Champion in the 200m

Men's Volleyball

The Warriors finished the season with a 14-6 overall record and advanced to the CCCAA State Championships for the fourth time since 2014.

The team would fall to Long Beach in four sets at state but still had an outstanding season.

The Warriors posted a 10-match winning streak at one point during the season and were at the top of the conference standings before falling to Long Beach in the final match of the regular season.

Four players were named to the All-Western State Conference Team with two first team selections and two second team selections.

Beach Volleyball

The Warriors had the best season in program history in 2022 as they went 22-5 overall and 10-0 in conference action. They won 22-straight matches to set a new program record for a winning streak and most wins in a season.

The team finished conference play undefeated for the first time in program history and won the South Coast Conference title for the first time since the conference was formed in 2018.

The Warriors would advance to the CCCAA State Championships for the second time in program history while also sending top pair Fayth Rascon and Lauren McCarthy to the pairs state championships.

The team would go on to finish 0-2 at state with Rascon and McCarthy going 2-1 as they advanced to the round of 16 before having their season come to an end.

Other highlights include:

LeValley Pattison named SCC Coach of the Year
Rascon and McCarthy win SCC Pairs Title, Named SCC Pair of the Year
Leafa Juarez and Brea Rutledge named All-SCC First Team
Diana Enriquez and Emily Uhrinak named All-SCC Second Team

Women's Tennis

The crowning achievement of the 2021-22 season for ECC Athletics; the women's tennis team made history by recording the first ever undefeated season for the program and securing its first ever CCCAA State Championships.

The Warriors went 17-0 during the 2022 season and advanced to the CCCAA State Championship match for the first time ever. Prior to this season, the program had advanced to the regional finals in 2002 and 2003 but could not make it to the final in each season.

The Warriors would go on to score a dominant 5-1 victory over Cañada College to claim the title.

With the title also came individual accolades for both the players and head coach.

Steve Van Kanegan was named the ITA Women's Tennis Regional Coach of the Year while Julia Jones and Kekoa Vaefa were each named All-Americans.

The accolades were in addition to the All-SCC selections for the Warriors with Van Kanegan also earning the conference's top coaching honor and four players earning All-SCC selections.

Other highlights include:

Women's tennis also won its second straight conference championships and 13th overall in program history
Julia Jones and Kekoa Vaefa won the SCC Doubles Conference Title, the third straight Warriors duo to claim that crown.