Itzel Aguilar and Gavin Wang lead the way for LBCC in Championship Finals Day One

Long Beach City College opened strong at the South Coast Conference Championships prelims hosted by El Camino College, positioning both Viking squads for a strong finish heading into Saturday's finals. With 5 of 21 events scored, the men currently sit in 4th place, while the women hold 3rd place in the team standings.

 

The Vikings made an immediate impact in the throwing events. In the women's javelin, freshman Jordyn Davis placed 4th with a personal-best mark of 32.24m, securing her spot at next week's SoCal Regional Championships in Bakersfield. On the men's side, Gavin Wang delivered a runner-up finish in the javelin with a throw of 53.25m to also qualify for regionals.

 

In the women's hammer throw, Alaa Hassouneh turned in a personal-best performance of 40.45m to place 4th and punch her ticket to the next round.

 

The women's triple jump proved valuable in the team race as Mia Jamerson, Charly Leak, and Amy Garcia finished 5th, 6th, and 7th respectively to score key points. Jamerson and Leak each earned automatic regional berths with their finishes. On the men's side, Moe Ibrahim added two more points with a 7th-place finish in the triple jump.

 

Distance standout Itzel Aguilar led the women in the 10,000 meters with an impressive 2nd-place finish in 40:23.94. Teammates Elena Gutierrez and Sylin Thai added valuable depth by placing 7th and 8th.

 

The Vikings have qualified a deep and talented group into Saturday's championship finals. Field event finalists include women's pole vaulters Phyre Romero and Morgan Washington; women's shot put and discus throwers Alaa Hassouneh and Lauren Farr; women's high jumper Zion Peters; men's shot put and discus throwers Issac Brown, Alex Sanchez-Carcamo, Ryan Edwards, and Jaden Akens; men's pole vaulter Daniel Green; and men's high jumper Arie Anthony.

 

On the track, both the women's and men's 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay squads advanced to finals. Women's distance qualifiers include Nadia Aguilar, Sylin Thai, and Itzel Aguilar in the 3000-meter steeplechase, along with Nadia Aguilar and Rosa Canales Montano in the 1500 meters. Rosa Canales Montano also qualified for the 5,000 meters. Men's steeplechase qualifiers are Sebastian Pardo Sandoval, while the men's 5,000-meter group features John Gabuya, Thomas Gerard, Julio De La Cruz, Jack Madden, Noel Rivas, and Estaban De Los Santos.

 

Sprint and hurdle finalists include La'Nayah Black in the women's 400 meters; Malaki Alexander in the men's 400 meters; Cody Leak, Zion Peters, and Charly Leak in the women's 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles; Fudail Burns in the men's 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles; Keyvel Sowell in the men's 400-meter hurdles; Kyla Raglin in the women's 100 meters; Tyler Goodman and Hector Jauregui in the men's 100 meters; and Tyler Goodman in the men's 200 meters.

 

With momentum building and finalists spread across nearly every event area, the Viking men and women have positioned themselves for a major push when the championship finals resume Saturday.