Women’s T&F runs third at OEC Finals

The women's track & field team had a solid finish at the OEC Finals on Friday, finishing third overall.  The Gauchos won two events and had a number of athletes qualify for the Southern California finals.

Leading the way was the steeplechase team last week when Rachel Oberschelp blew away the field on the way to a win.  Oberschelp tackled the 3,000-meter course in 12:09.89, winning by nearly 24 seconds.  Right behind her was Angelica Vallier in second place and Melissa Rosborough in fourth as Saddleback took home 23 points in the event. 

Another big winner was sprinter Celine Smith, who had a big day.  Smith won the 400 meters with a time of 58.30, easily coasting to a 4.5 second win.  She also finished fourth in the 200 meters in a time of 26.72.

Vallier was another that qualified for the Southern California Regional Prelims this weekend.  Vallier finished third in the 1,500 meters when she ran a personal-best time of 4:51.57.  Just 1.3 seconds behind her was Caroline Dagarin, who finished fifth. 

Saddleback will compete next in the SoCal Prelims this week at Antelope Valley College.