Community college men’s and women’s track and field: Peaking Pirate

men shut down Santa Ana

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - As far as Orange Empire Conference regular-season

action went, Friday’s tri-meet at Orange Coast College meant put-up or

shut-up time. Several OCC athletes responded with their best performances

of the season, including the Pirates’ men’s squad, which scored 173

points and defeated Santa Ana (105) and Fullerton (63). Yet, Riverside

won the OEC regular-season title, while Coast (5-1) came in second.

OCC freshman Jennifer Finaldi broke the school record in the pole

vault with an 11-foot-1 clearance, as the OEC’s third-place team, the

Pirates, finished behind undefeated OEC champion Santa Ana (136).

Fullerton (91) trailed OCC.

“We thought it was going to be a close meet, so we knew we had to step

it up,” OCC Coach John Knox said of his men’s squad. “That by far was

their best meet of the season. We had some guys who woke up and realized

they could compete and they did.”

Keinan Briggs, a freshman who was a member of the OCC basketball team,

led the Pirates as a triple winner (high jump, long jump and triple

jump), and he also finished second in the 110-meter high hurdles.

James Canetti, an offensive lineman on the OCC football team, recorded

personal-bests in his winning shot put (45-0 1/2) and discus (140-1),

while team captains Mark Cipolla (1,500 and 3,000) and Chuck Loo (110 and

400 hurdles) also doubled.

The Pirates’ Michael Persson, a sophomore from Sweden, turned in a

season-best 14-9, to win the pole vault, and OCC freshman All-Mission

Conference tailback Niles Mittasch won the 200 (22.1).

On the women’s side, OCC (3-2) came up just shy of knocking off

undefeated Santa Ana, which won the OEC title and the meet with 136

points. The OEC’s third place Pirates (123 points) and Fullerton (91)

followed.

OCC sophomore team captain Julie Kroening, one of the squad’s top

three point-winners, battled flu-like symptoms, so that allowed other

athletes, such as Annie Garton, to step up. Garton won the 400 low

hurdles (1:07.1), and finished second in the 400.

Santa Ana stormed to the OEC title mainly because the Dons broke five

school records to win the 400 relay, triple jump and the hammer and

discus throws. Hilda Vasquez broke a Santa Ana record in the 3,000, but

finished behind OCC freshman Michelle Icban, who won the event in

(10:24.0).

OCC’s Ginger Liechty also grabbed a win for the Pirates in the high

jump.

The Pirates have an opportunity to reverse their fortunes April 25-26,

when they host the OEC Preliminaries, better known as the conference

championship meet, a prelude to the Southern California Prelims. The OCC

men, whose only loss came at Riverside, and the Coast women’s squad, know

that the table is set for them to take the conference meet title.