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5/14/11: Women’s T&F finishes 10th at SoCal Finals

The Saddleback women’s track & field team had some tremendous performances on Friday at the SoCal Finals, finishing 10th in Southern California.  A number of athletes had top-10 performances, led by Tawnya Turton’s second place finish in the hammer throw.

The team was still stinging after leading hammer thrower Elizabeth Tepe fouled out of the competition a week ago, ending her season prematurely.  Turton picked up the pieces, finishing second on the day with a season-best throw of 149’ 10”, just 13 inches shy of the winning throw by Mt. SAC’s Noel Wright.

Turton was not alone; however, as Saddleback had other top-10 finishes on the day.  Michelle Wicker finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.72), just a hair off her best time of the year.  Evonna Ramirez finished sixth in the 5,000 meters (18:23.19), setting a personal best by 44 seconds, while the 4 x 100 relay team finished seventh with a season-best time of 48.35.  Kelli Gibson finished fourth in the pole vault (11’ 1”) while Jerrilyn Stanwood’s toss of 132’ 10.75” in the discus was good enough for fifth place.  Kaelyn Kaichi had a solid day, finishing seventh in the long jump (17’ 1.75”) while helping the relay team finish seventh.  Ashley Hatcher’s leap of 37’ 2” was good enough for a sixth place finish in the triple jump.

Saddleback finished with 31 points on the afternoon, just seven points out of a top-5 finish.

5/5/11: Tepe leads women’s T&F team to regionals

The women’s track & field team heads to the regional events over the next two Fridays at Mt. San Antonio College looking for big things, as a number of athletes have a chance to move on to the state meet later in the month.  Hammer thrower Elizabeth Tepe is the headliner of the bunch, as she heads into the meets ranked No. 1 in the state.

Tepe has done just about everything there is to do over a three-month period.  She opened the season in her first meet as a college athlete by shattering the program record by nearly 23 feet with a throw of 155’ 4”.  She later toppled her own record when she tossed the hammer 162’ 2” in a meet against Santa Ana and Golden West in mid-March.  Tepe then crushed her own record in the OEC finals last weekend with a toss of 169’ 8”, making her the clear-cut favorite to win the state title at American River College on May 20-21.  Her closest competitor is Jazmin Porter from Shasta College, who had a season-best throw of 153’ 8” last weekend at the Golden Valley Conference championships.  Tepe’s season-beast toss ranks second nationally, as only Marcelo Solano of Barton County Community College (KS) has a longer toss for the year (191’ 0”). 

Other athletes with a chance to leave a mark over the next two weeks include Evonna Ramirez (3,000-meters), Michelle Wicker (100-hurdles, 400-hurdles, high jump), Kelli Gibson (pole vault), Ashley Hatcher (long jump, triple jump), Jerrilyn Stanwood (discus). Tawnya Turton (hammer), Kaelyn Kaichi (100-meters), Tia McFarlane (100-meters) and the 4 x 100 relay team.

As much as has been made of Tepe in the hammer, teammate Tawnya Turton has the seventh longest toss in Southern California this season (147’ 0”) and is currently ranked No. 11 in the state and No. 18 nationally.

Ashley Hatcher has been a tremendous addition in the jumps after coming over from the basketball team and has a great chance at top-10 finishes in both events.  She has the sixth longest jump in the state in the long jump this year (18’ 1.25”) and her triple jump of 37’ 10.75” ranks seventh in Southern California and 23rd in the nation. 

Jerrilyn Stanwood has been consistent all season and heads to the regional finals ranked No. 7 in the state in the discus.  Her toss of 142’ 7” ranks No. 5 in Southern California and No. 14 nationally among community college athletes.

Pole vaulter Kelli Gibson is hoping to bounce back from some nagging injuries and when healthy has been one of the best in the entire country.   She vaulted 11’ 4.25” earlier in the season at the Prairie War against Cuyamaca College on March 25, which still stands as the second best vault in Southern California this season and the ninth best in the nation. 

Michelle Wicker has a chance to finish in the top-10 in three events, as her time of 14.76 in the 100-meter hurdles ranks No. 5 in Southern California and No. 20 nationally.  She also has the 29th best time in the nation in the 400-meter hurdles (1:06.03) and is part of the 4 x 100 relay team that has the 10th best time in Southern California this season (48.93).

Evonna Ramirez has been consistently improving throughout the season in the 3,000-meters and now sits in a good position for a top-10 finish.  Her time of 10:33.73 is good enough for both the No. 7 time down south and in the state, as all the top times this season have come from the southern half of the state.

Two others with a chance of a top-10 finish include 100-meter runners Kaelyn Kaichi and Tia McFarlane.  Kaichi currently has the 19th best time (12.39) in the south this year while McFarlane’s time of 12.46 ranks No. 23 in the south.   

The Southern California preliminary meet goes off at Mt. San Antonio College at 10:00 PM this Friday.  The finals will be held next Friday at 3:00 PM.

3/26/11: Track & field wins Prairie War at Cuyamaca

The Saddleback track & field teams won the sixth annual Prairie War against Cuyamaca College on Friday at Cuyamaca with a 206.5-143.5 win over the Coyotes.  The Gaucho men narrowly defeated Cuyamaca 93.5-87.5 while the women were dominant, beating the Coyotes 113-56.

Saddleback evened the annual event at three wins apiece on Friday on the strength of a dominating performance by the women.  The Gaucho women won 15-of-18 events as Michelle Wicker and Ashley Hatcher both won three individual events before helping both relay teams to wins.  Wicker won the 100-meter hurdles (15.40), 400-meter hurdles (1:07.47) and high jump (5’) before anchoring both the 4 x 100 (51.0) and 4 x 400 (4:31.96) relay teams to wins.  Hatcher captured first place in the 200-meters (26.95), long jump (16’ 8.25”) and triple jump (35’ 5.5”) before joining Wicker on both the relay teams.

Other winners on the day for the women’s team included Kaelyn Kaichi in the 100-meters (12.81), Chelsea Owens in the 800-meters (2:34.92), Evonna Ramirez in both the 1,500-meters (5:07.54) and 3,000-meters (10:53.51), Kelli Gibson in the pole vault (11’ 4”), Jerrilynn Stanwood in the discus (138’ 2.25”) and Elizabeth Tepe in the hammer (150’).

The men were challenged by Cuyamaca throughout the meet, but managed to win 10 times, dominating in the field events.  Remy Conatser won both the javelin (160’ 5”) and hammer (178’ 8.25”) while Dillon Bales won the discus (140’ 4.5”) and Rory Mount won the shot put (46’ 7”).  Vince Fusco joined Conatser as a two-time winner, taking home first place in both the 110-meter hurdles (15.53) and 400-meter hurdles (56.04).  Tanner Terry won the 200-meters (21.91) before helping the 4 x 100 relay team to a win (42.46).  Sam Grosso took home first place in the 3,000-meters (9:18.45) while Cameron Savage yet again dominated the competition in the pole vault (16’, 5”). 

The track & field teams will compete again on Friday when they travel to Orange Coast College to take on both Orange Coast and Riverside College.  Meet time is set for 12-noon.

3/17/11: Gaucho T&F is rolling and moving up in rankings

The Saddleback track & field teams are off to arguably their best start ever in 2011 and last week scored dominating wins over Golden West College and Santa Ana College.  The folks at gocollegetrack.com have the men now tied for third in the state rankings while the women have moved up to No. 8.

Previous to the 2011 season, both teams had never been ranked in the top-10 at one time and now both are not only ranked, but moving up.  The Saddleback men moved into a tie for third in the state rankings with American River College, behind only Mt. San Antonio College and Riverside College while the women moved up two spots to No. 8. 

The Gauchos showed off their stuff again last Friday at home when the men defeated Golden West College, 110-44, and the women score victories over both Golden West (90-64) and Santa Ana College (110-34). 

The men were completely dominant, winning 15-of-18 events and turning in some solid performances in the process.  They took home both first and second place in eight of the 16 non-relay events and took home the first three spots in four events. 

Tanner Terry completed the double-double by winning both the 100-meters (10.79) and 200-meters (21.64) before helping the 4 x 100 relay team to a win.  Sam Grosso had a similar fate in the 1,500-meters (4:17.32) and 3,000-meters (9:11.91), winning both events and shaving nearly 11 seconds off of his personal best in the 3,000.

Saddleback also had dominating performances in the hurdles races, as both Vince Fusco and Andrew Kokinakes turned in personal-best times.  Fusco became the seventh best performer of all time in the 110-hurdles with a time of 15.18 seconds while Kokinakes became the third best of all time in the 400-meters with a time of 53.28 seconds. 

As usual, the Gauchos were once again solid in throws events, winning all four contests.  Remy Conatser turned in a personal best when winning the discus with a toss of 143’ 9” while Jeremy Johnson won the javelin with a personal-best throw of 157’ 1”.  

The women won 12 of 18 total events against Golden West and Santa Ana, and had some personal best and record-setting performances. 

Elizabeth Tepe shattered her own record in the hammer throw with a toss of 162’ 2”.  She set the program record with a throw of 155’ 4” back on February 11 at Fullerton College and is nearly 25-feet better than any other athlete to come through the program.

Ashley Hatcher became the fifth best performer of all time in the long jump when she leaped 18’ 0.25” to win the event by over a foot.  She added nearly 14 inches to her personal best before helping the 4 x 100 relay team to another solid win. 

Michelle Wicker was up to her old tricks, winning three events on her own before helping both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams to wins.  Wicker set her personal best, becoming the fourth best performer of all time in the 100-meter hurdles (15.22).  She then won the 400-meter hurdles (1:09.49) and high jump (4’ 9”) before joining the relay teams. 

Kaelyn Kaichi was also a three-time winner on the day, winning both the 100-meters (12.80) and 200-meters (26.56) with respectable times before helping out in the 4 x 100 relay. 

Other winners on the day included Evonna Ramirez in both the 800-meters (2:35.59) and 1,500-meters (11:01.17) and Kelli Gibson in the pole vault (10’ 6”).

2/28/11: Women’s T&F impressive in domination of SCC

The women’s track and field team is off to its best start in years and on Friday made yet another statement with a dominating 114-30 win over Santiago Canyon College.  The Gauchos had some stellar individual performances, winning 14-of-17 events on the day.

Freshman Michelle Wicker won three different events and finished second in another as Saddleback had a number of top-10 performers of all time.  Wicker’s winning time of 15.26 in the 100-meter hurdles leaves her as the fourth best performer in the history of the program in that event.    She also joined Tia McFarlane, Kaelyn Kaichi and Ashley Hatcher in winning the 4 x 100 relay, as the foursome recorded the sixth best performance in a season with a time of 50.34.  She also won the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:11.36 and finished second in the javelin.

Tawnya Turton had another stellar day in the field events, winning both the hammer throw and the shot put.  She had a season-best throw of 137’ 4” in the hammer, which rates as the second best performer in program history. 

Jerrilynn Stanwood had her best finish of the season in the discus with a throw of 133’ 4”, moving her two spots up the board as the top performer in the history of the program.  She now sits in a tie for third with Kellyann Wilson in 1988. 

Ashley Hatcher recently joined the track and field team after finishing up the basketball season and made a quick impact on Friday.  She won both the long jump and triple jump, and was a part of the 4 x 100 relay team that captured first place.  Her jump of 34’ 11.25” in the triple jump made her the seventh best performer in program history and her jump of 16’ 10.25” in the long jump ranks 10th. 

Kelli Gibson continued her improvement in the pole vault, bettering her best jump of the year on Friday with a vault of 10’ 11.75”, which puts her at fifth all time.  Evonna Ramirez also ranks as the fifth best performer of all time after winning the 3,000-meters with a time of 10:56.97, shaving nearly 12 seconds off of her personal best. 

One more top-10 performer of all time is Chelsea Owens, after she turned in a personal-best time of 2:26.66 in the 800-meters, which puts her at No. 9 all time.  Other winners on the day included Kaelyn Kaichi in the 100-meters (12.68), Tia McFarlane in the 400-meters (1:05.79) and Amy Jystad in the 1,500-meters (5:36.20).

Saddleback will compete again on Friday in Antelope Valley against Antelope Valley College, Bakersfield College and College of the Canyons. Meet time is set for 2:00 PM.

2/23/11: T&F teams both rated in the top-10

The latest state rankings came out by gocollegetrack.com and both the men and women’s teams cracked the top-10 list.  The Gaucho men came in at No. 4 in the latest computer rankings while the women came in at No. 10.

The two rankings are the highest either team has been ranked since the inception of the rankings in 2007 and it also marks the first time that both programs have been ranked at one time. 

The men have had some tremendous efforts thus far during the season and over the weekend received a handful more at the Cerritos Invitational on Friday and Saturday.  The Gauchos had 13 top-10 finishes at Cerritos, led by hammer thrower Remington Conatser.  The freshman from Capistrano Valley hammered the competition (no pun) with a throw of 175’ 3”, which was his second best throw of the season after setting the program record with a throw of 180’ 11” on February 11.

Cameron Savage was once again in rare form in the pole vault, finishing tied for first with a jump of 15’ 11.75”.   Second place finishers for Saddleback included Rory Mount in the shot put (45’ 9”), Andrew Kokinakes in the 400-meter hurdles (55.53) and the foursome of Kokinakes, Tanner Terry, James Poole and Edgar Vasquez in the 4 x 400 relay.  Terry also had a third place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 21.93 seconds, becoming the ninth best performer in program history.  Dillon Bales also recorded a third place finish with a throw of 143’ 10” in the discus. 

The women also had a number of benchmark performances as the Gauchos finished in the top-10 in 12 different events.  Saddleback finished in second place in three separate events, led by a season-best performance by Tawnya Turton in the hammer throw.  Turton’s toss of 137’ 3” put her as the second best performer all time in the history of the program behind teammate Elizabeth Tepe.  She was joined by Kelli Gibson in the pole vault (10’ 6”) and Christina Perez in the high jump (4’ 4”) with second place finishes while discus thrower Jerrilynn Stanwood was two inches off her personal best after finishing fourth (129’ 2”) over the weekend.  Michelle Wicker became the ninth best performer all time when she ran a 1:08.93 in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing fifth in the event.  She also became the fifth best 100-meter hurdles performer in the history of the program after finishing sixth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.70).  Chelsea Owens also had a top-5 performance for Saddleback, running the 1,500 meters in 5:00.55, becoming the ninth best performer in program history.

Saddleback will compete again this Friday at home when they host Santiago Canyon College in a duel meet. 

2/14/11: Women’s T&F races past Fullerton

The track & field teams had their first real competition of the season on Friday with a duel meet at Fullerton College.  The Gauchos ran past the Hornets in the women’s competition, winning seven of 10 running events on the day for an 88-53 win.

Michelle Wicker (pictured left) and Tia McFarlane were the big winners, both winning two separate events.  Wicker captured both the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles with times of 15.50 and 1:10.53 respectively, both solid times for the early part of the season.  McFarlane took both the short sprints, winning the 100-meters and 200-meters with times of 12.73 and 27.35 respectively.  Both athletes then went on to lead the Gauchos to a win in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 51.36, the eighth fastest time in program history.

Other winners in the running events included Christina Perez in the 400-meters (1:09.04) and Evonna Ramirez in the 3,000-meters (11:08.57).

The field events were equally impressive for the Gauchos as two different athletes captured their own event.  Elizabeth Tepe won the hammer throw with a toss of 47.35 meters while Jerrilyn Stanwood won the discus (40.14 meters). The 155' 4" throw by Tepe (pictured right) in the hammer shattered the school record of 122' 7" set by Natalie Heer in 1996.

Not to be outdone, the jumpers were in rare form on Friday when Kelli Gibson captured first place in the pole vault (3.05 meters) and Kaelyn Kaichi won the triple jump (9.75 meters).

Saddleback will compete again this Friday and Saturday at the Cerritos Invitational.

2/1/11: Vaulters start hot in Reno

The opening event of the 2011 track & field season took place last weekend in Reno, Nevada, and the Saddleback contingent was well represented in the opening meet of the season.  Cameron Savage had the top community college result of the weekend while Kelli Gibson (left) finished first among the women.

Savage was looking to build on a great finish to the 2010 season when he finished fifth in the state meet at Victor Valley College last May.  He jumped 16’4.75”, which was the third best jump in program history and the top indoor mark of all time. 

Gibson’s jump of 10’9.75” was a personal best for the freshman from El Toro High School and the sixth best jump in the history of the women’s program.

In addition, freshman Peter Klepp (El Toro) had a great start to his college career, jumping 14’0”.

The rest of the track & field team will compete for the first time in 2011 at Fullerton College on February 11.

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