Gauchos fourth at OEC Finals

Gauchos fourth at OEC Finals

The Saddleback women's track & field team finished in fourth place at the Orange Empire Conference Finals on Friday in Santa Ana.  The Gauchos remained dominant in the middle distance races with two wins.

Saddleback now heads into the regional prelims this weekend with a handful of athletes that should compete for a Southern California individual championship.

Saddleback currently owns the No. 2 and No. 3 times in the state in the 800 meters with Megan Good and Dana McGrath.  Good and McGrath cruised to a 1-2 finish in the 800 meters on Friday at the OEC Finals when Good posted a time of 2:21.31 and McGrath was right on her heels at 2:21.39.  The times were about seven seconds off of their personal bests at the Occidental Distance Carnival Spring Break Classic in early March. 

The Saddleback duo should also be a factor this weekend at the Southern California Regional Finals in the 1,500 meters.  McGrath currently has the No. 5 time in the state after running a 4:48.45 and winning the OEC Finals this past Friday.  Good is currently sixth in the state after finishing second on Friday when crossing the finish line in 4:49.74. 

Another event to keep an eye on is the 3,000 meter steeplechase, where Holly Morales currently holds the No. 10 time in the state.  Morales finished sixth this past week at the OEC Finals while teammates Hailey Hunner (12:33.28) and Cayla Porter (12:37.53) finished third and fourth, respectively. 

Saddleback also has a very competitive 4 x 400 relay team as they currently hold the fourth fastest time in the state this season at 4:00.50.  The Gauchos finished second to Riverside City College this past week at the OEC Finals, running a 4:01.33. 

Amanda Amundson also has a shot at the podium at the state meet as she currently sits No. 8 in the state in the pole vault.  Amundson cleared 3.18 meters at the Coast Classic last month and was second at the OEC Finals on Friday.

Another sleeper to watch out for is Rylee Kerr, who currently has the 11th fastest time in the state in the 400 meters.  Kerr finished third at the OEC Finals with her fastest time of the year, posting a 58.89. 

Alycia Turner currently sits 20th in the state in the 200 meters after running a 25.54 in the OEC prelims.  She finished fifth in the finals with a time of 25.62. 

In addition, Alexis Park finished sixth in the 10,000 meters on Friday in a time of 41:35.57.  It was the 17th fastest time in the state this season. 

Anique Beloney-Carter is currently tied for 14th in the state in the high jump after posting a leap of 1.50 meters at the Prairie War last month. 

The Southern California Regional Prelims take place this Saturday at Riverside City College with the finals the following Saturday.