Bobcats have greatest finish ever at SoCal Finals

The Saddleback women's track and field team set a new program best with a second place finish at the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Finals on Friday at Moorpark College.  The Bobcats now head to the state meet with a shot at the best finish in program history at the state finals.

Saddleback has had a special season in women's track & field.   There's been multiple program records.  There's been top times and performances in the state.  Now there's a new piece of hardware for the trophy case as the Bobcats made it to the podium with a second place finish. 

Saddleback edged out rival Riverside City College for second place, a team that had beaten them for the Orange Empire Conference championship two weeks earlier.  The Bobcats did it on the strength of a number of sensational finishes.

Saddleback won five different events, with Jolie Robinson winning three and Maliyah Medley two.  Robinson won the heptathlon in early April and followed that up with wins in both the long jump and javelin on Friday.  She has the highest score of any competitor in the state in the heptathlon this year, is tied for the longest jump in the long jump and is second in the state in the javelin.  Medley was victorious in both the 400 meters and 200 meters on Friday, posting the best time in the state in both events. 

Danielle Lister had her best performance of the season in the discus throw, finishing second overall.  Lister had a career-best toss of 41.46 meters on her opening throw, which ranks fourth in the state. 

Olivia Knobbe had two top-5 finishes, finishing third in the 1,500 meters and fifth in the 800 meters. 

Isabelle Teh and Chelsea Kerr both had third place finishes on Friday, with Teh finishing third in the pole vault and Kerr third in the triple jump. 

Saddleback had three other top-10 finishes on the day.  Rachel Whitten was sixth in the triple jump, Esther Parrish eighth in the 100 hurdles and the 4 x 100 relay team finished seventh overall.

Saddleback's second place finish at the regional finals easily eclipsed the previous-best finish in program history.  The women's track program finished fifth in Southern California in 1988 and was sixth in 2018.

Saddleback will attempt to set a new program high at the state meet next week at Mt. San Antonio College on Friday and Saturday.  The best finish at the state championships was fifth place in 1986.