Posted: Nov 30, 2012

Tigers win Orange Empire Conference Championship

IRVINE (10-26-2012) – The Tigers won their third OEC XC Championship in six years by beating conference rival Orange Coast College 26-40 at Irvine Park (hosted by Santiago Canyon College). Four runners placed in the top five, and their fifth man was 13^th overall. There were a total of 88 runners on the hilly but beautiful course. "I was so pleased with how all the guys ran especially Danny Ybarra (5^th) and Brandon Johnson (4^th). Both guys exceeded expectations with top five finishes, and they secured the win by finishing before OCC's number one runner. OCC has a strong team, and for the guys to win by such a big margin in a smaller race really says a lot about the potential this team has at the state level," said Coach McCarron.

The Tiger's John Guzman took the individual crown beating Saddlebacks Kyler Fisk by nine seconds. Then the Tigers took the 3-5 spots with Luis Gutierrez (21:07), Brandon Johnson (21:29) and Danny Ybarra (21:39). Orange Coast College packed well taking the 6-10 places, but Justin Samaniego sealed the victory with his 13^th place finish running 21:58. Scott Davis (20^th/22:27) and Jimmy Gauger (22^nd/22:35) rounded out the top seven. Other Tigers who had big improvements were Chris Miller (31^st/23:16) and Alvaro Alva (47^th/24:05). The Tigers, ranked 4^th in the state, will travel to Fairview Park in Costa Mesa next Saturday to compete at the Southern California Championships where they will face four of the top six teams in the state, including rival San Bernardino Valley College. The top 14 teams at that event will qualify for the State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday, November 17. Official results can be found on gocollegetrack.com and directathletics.com

Team Results:

RCC 26 points
OCC 40 points
Saddleback 54 points
FJC 122 points
Golden West 158 points
Santiago Canyon 166 points