Track and Field: Long Beach qualifies four individuals, one relay for State Championships

The Long Beach City College men's track and field team totaled 25 points for 14th place, while the LBCC women earned one point to tie for 27th place at the Southern California Regional Finals on Friday (May 6) at Mt. San Antonio College.

The Long Beach men also qualified four individuals and one relay team for this week's California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Track and Field State Championships in Sacramento. The meet is set for May 20-21 at American River College's Beaver Stadium.

The Viking men had a pair of top-three finishes at Friday's SoCal Finals. Leading the way was sophomore Jonathan Sanders in the 400 meter hurdles. Sanders took second with a time of 52.08 and was just edged by Mt. SAC's Jordin Andrade at 51.98.

Sanders will compete at the state championships in the 400 hurdles and as a member of the 4x100 meter relay team. The squad of Imani Hall, Daveon Collins, Sanders, and Derek Speight took fourth place with a time of 41.10.

Also in the hurdles, sophomore Marquan Jackson finished third in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 14.43 and he will also advance to the state championships.

In jumps, Corey Winston will move on in the triple jump after taking eighth place with a mark of 14.61 meters. In the long jump, Kunhee Bang finished 10th with a leap of 6.94 meters to also qualify for state.

In other events for the LBCC men at the SoCal Finals, the 4x400 meter relay team failed to advance after a false start removed them from the event. Collins finished ninth in the 100 meters at 10.86 and Winston failed to clear a height in the high jump.

The LBCC women saw their season come to an end after the SoCal Finals. The 4x100 meter relay team of Stephanique Brown, Ashley Craddock, Jessica Sheffield, and Phillisha Nunley finished eighth with a time of 48.77. Mary Onuohah, LBCC's lone female qualifier, took 10th in the javelin with a toss of 25.06 meters.