Warriors Sit in Second, Women Third after Day One at Conference Championships

NORWALK, Calif. --- The El Camino College track and field team had a solid showing after day one of the South Coast Conference Championshiops with the men sitting in second and the women in third after Tuesday's events at Cerritos College.

While most of the running events held prelims, there were finals being held in other events including the javelin, hammer throw and the 10,000m.

Sequioa Gonzales and Ami Jacobson finished first and second respectively in the 10,000m as Gonzales finished with a time of 39:36.34 while Jacobson was right behind her with a time of 39:37.49. Their performances also placed them in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots on the ECC All-Time Record Book respectively. In addition, Gonzales' time placed her one spot behind her mother, Sawako Nakamura, who set her mark of 38:47.82 back in 1996.

Haidee Lopez finished fifth in the race with a time of 43:03.50 and the three runners qualified for the Southern California Championships on May 5 at San Diego Mesa.

In the hammer throw, Makayla Nored placed sixth with a mark of 119 feet, 11 ½ inches. It also moved her to No. 6 on the ECC All-Time Record Book.

On the men's side, Nathaniel Smith secured a podium finish in the javelin with a mark of 144 feet, 10 inches, placing third.

Michael Ihemeje also secured a third-place finish in the long jump final with a mark of 22 feet, 6 inches with Anthony Brooks finishing fifth with a mark of 21 feet, 9 ½ inches.

Stephen Hansen placed fourth in the 10,000m final with a time of 34:15.53.

As for the prelims, the Warriors had many athletes amongst the leading qualifiers. The finals of these events will be held on Saturday at Cerritos College.