Icban named runner of the year

As icing on the cake to a dream season, Orange Coast College

women’s sophomore runner Michelle Icban was named the Orange Empire

Conference Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year Tuesday as voted

by the league’s coaches.

Icban won all but one race she entered this season, capturing the

individual state championship at Fresno’s Woodward Park Nov. 23 in

17:56, helping lead the Coast women to a second-straight state title.

Icban took second at the state championships in 2001.

Joining the Cypress resident on the all-conference team were Ava

Jones, Natalie St. Andre, Susie Dinoso and Sandra Montoya.

Jones took third at the state championship (18:06) and placed

second (18:23.07) at the OEC meet Nov. 1 at Huntington Beach’s

Central Park. St. Andre (fifth, 19:35.13), Dinoso (seventh, 19:48.81)

and Montoya (ninth, 20:08.91) led OCC to a first-place finish at the

conference meet.

Men’s and women’s runners finishing in the top 10 at the Orange Empire Conference Meet Nov. 1 at Huntington Beach’s Central Park were

selected to the conference teams.

Coast men’s and women’s cross country coaches John Knox and Dave

Fier were named Men’s Co-Coaches of the Year after leading the men to

a second-place finish at state.

The Pirates won the OEC championship for a second consecutive

season and took first place at the Southern California Regional meet.

Four Bucs were named to the all-conference team led by Joel

Guzman, David Ojeda, Vidal Barragan and Sam Ocampo.

Ojeda raced to fourth place (20:22.26) while Guzman followed with

a fifth-place finish (20:36.98) at the OEC meet Nov. 1. Barragan ran

to ninth (21:01.37) and Ocampo took 10th place (21:05.38).

Knox, in his first season as head cross country coach, took over

for John Goldman, who resigned following the 2001 season. Knox also

coaches the Coast track and field team.

Santa Ana’s Isaac Perez was named Men’s Athlete of the Year and

Fullerton’s Gina Bevac and Jim Kiefer were named Women’s Co-Coaches

of the Year.