Mounties Dynasty In Track And Field Now At 3 Double State Titles In A Row
COMPLETE 3C2A STATE TRACK AND FIELD RESULTS
At the start of the 21st century, the Mt. San Antonio College men's and women's track and field programs dominated by winning state championships for each gender in 2000, 2001, and 2002. On Saturday, the South Coast Conference member Mounties accomplished the triple-double feat again, capping the 3C2A state team crowns at Saddleback College.
Since the pandemic wiped out the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Mt. SAC reasserted its monopoly in the sport with double state championships in 2022, 2023 and now 2024.
This was the second straight year in which the Walnut campus won both men's/women's cross country and men's/women's track and field titles, also performing that feat in the 2022-23 school year.
MEN
The Mounties' 15th state title overall was a cakewalk in the points standings in scoring 199, 85 ahead of second-place Riverside City's 114.
Mt. SAC won six individual events, including a pair by distance racer Matthew Donis, who won the 1,500 meters in the state's fastest time this year at 3:49.67 and took first in the 5,000 race at 14:30.92.
Also earning event golds were the 4x100 relay (40.19) as Ryan Rivituso, Jake Jensen, Romello Jenkins, and Asani Hampton posted California's best time, Hampton in the 100 dash at 10.16, Jensen in a state fastest 20.81 in the 200, and Elijha Ellis leading a 1-2-3 finish for the Mounties in winning the triple jump in 48-01.25. Terrence Sweetman, who set the year's state longest jump at 49-9 at the SoCal Championships, took second and Jerry Roberts was third. That event earned the college 24 team points.
Second place finishes were turned in by Ian Crocker in the 10,000 meters, Jensen in the 100, Rivituso in the 400, and Devin Paton in the 400 hurdles.
In a SCC top three, El Camino's Anthony Taylor won the 110 hurdles in a state fastest 14.12, followed by Cerritos' Juan Ward and Mt. SAC's Christian Baker.
El Camino and Long Beach City each tied for 12th place in the team standings (14 points each) while Cerritos was 16th with 12.
WOMEN
Mt. SAC also picked up its 15th state crown after first winning at the state meet in 1983.
The Mounties scored 102 points with Cerritos placing second at 73. LBCC was 10th (26), El Camino 11th (25) and East Los Angeles finished 18th (14).
The South Coast had variety in state individual champs with Mt. SAC grabbing two while Cerritos, El Camino and ELAC each winning one event.
The Mounties' Summer Stevenson won the triple jump in 41-03.25 and Long Beach's Mia Jamerson was second. Mt. SAC also scored the gold in the 4x100 relay as Cyvanna Brown, Catalina Teran, Astrid Teran and appropriately named Leila Champion set the state's best time this season at 46.95. Cerritos placed third in the event.
Stevenson also took second in the long jump as did the Mounties 4x400 relay squad.
For Cerritos, Dimitra Vitogiannis won the discus throw (146-11) and Zharia Taylor placed second in both the heptathlon (4,528 points over seven events) and 400 meters.
ECC's Sequoia Gonzales won the 10,000 meters in a state best 36:22.19 while Warriors' teammate Ami Jacobson was third.
ELAC's Marbella Flores used a state fastest 17:34.51 to take gold in the 5,000 while Gonzales was third.
Release by Robert Lewis, SCC SID