COMMUNITY COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : OCC Cross-Country Team Attempts to Make It 3 in a Row Over Riverside
- Share via
The Orange Coast College women’s cross-country team is favored over Riverside today in the Orange Empire Conference finals, but only by the slightest of margins.
The teams have met twice during the regular season and both times OCC proved a point better. The finals are at Irvine Regional Park, starting at 2 p.m.
Orange Coast came away with a 27-28 victory at the conference festival Sept. 21 at Central Park in Huntington Beach. The teams met again at the Irvine Invitational, which was run on the same course as today’s race, and OCC finished in third place with 116 points. Riverside (117) was fourth.
The Pirates’ team is led by Mari Benavides, Christy Melton and Sherri Fox.
“Our top two runners (Benavides and Melton) have to finish in front of their top girl for us to win,” OCC Coach Gordie Fitzel said. “Then it will come down to where our pack is and where Riverside’s is. I think it will be a very close race, they have really studied us and are ready.”
Liz Rojas, Lisa Ruthowski, Alisha Biehn and Maggie Steinhauser are the leaders of the pack that Fitzel hopes can outrun Riverside’s.
Riverside is the clear favorite in the men’s race, with OCC and Rancho Santiago given the best chance for an upset. OCC’s chances were hurt when Terry Brusselle, one of the Pirates’ top runners, sprained his ankle last week. He is doubtful for today’s race.
The Golden West water polo team Friday won its 20th conference title in 22 years, when the Rustlers finished South Coast play with a 6-0 record. This is the third conference title in four years for Coach Ken Hamdorf, and Golden West is the defending state champion.
The Rustlers will be the top-seeded team in the single-elimination conference tournament, which starts Friday at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.
The pairings for the tournament’s first round Friday: Fullerton vs. El Camino at 10 a.m., Cerritos vs. Pasadena at 11:30 a.m., and Long Beach vs. Mt. San Antonio at 1 p.m.
Golden West plays the winner of the Fullerton-El Camino game at 6 p.m. in one semifinal and the other winners play at 7:30 p.m.
The third-place game is Saturday at 6 p.m., and the championship game is at 7:30 p.m.
The Orange Empire Conference water polo title will be decided by Friday. Grossmont (11-0) has a 1 1/2-game lead over Orange Coast. Grossmont is off today while Orange Coast plays host to Saddleback at 3:30 p.m. On Friday, OCC travels to Grossmont for a 3:30 match. Grossmont defeated OCC, 12-9, on Oct. 9.
More to Read
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.