Ruiz wins, Mt. SAC leads
The opening event of the 3C2A State Track & Field Championships is in the books after Friday's opening day of the meet. Riverside City's Ernesto Ruiz was the winner of the 10K while Mt. San Antonio leads the team total.
Riverside and Mt. SAC are no strangers to leading the pack. The two programs have won 12 of the past 14 state titles and currently hold down the top two spots in the team standings after the opening event on Friday night.
Ruiz won the 10K in a time of 30:23.00, which was the second fastest winning time at the state finals since 2014. Mt. San Antonio's Ian Crocker ran neck-and-neck over the final 10 laps but couldn't keep pace with a determined Ruiz overt the final three laps.
Mt. San Antonio had three competitors finish in the top eight to give them 11 team points. Ruiz's 10 points puts Riverside City one point back at 10 team points through one event.
In other action, Santa Barbara City College's Ryan Gregory leads the decathlon through five events. Gregory won both the long jump (6.67m) and high jump (1.91m) while finishing second in the 200 meters (49.85), third in the 100 meters (11.04) and 10th in the shot put (9.83m).
Action continues at Saddleback on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM.