GCC Track and Field teams take 6th place in WSC Finals April 28; five Vaquero athletes win conference titles

The Track and Field team concluded the Western State Conference Championships this past Friday at Moorpark College. Both the men and women finished in 6th place as a team, with five individual conference titles: Destiny Lopez in the 1500m with a time of 4:40.68 and the 5000m with a time of 18:06.47, Julius Largaespada in the 800m with a time of 1:55.05, Kevin Gomez in the hammer with a throw of 46.20m, and Kaylyn Guerra in the hammer with a throw of 37.94m. There were also three second place finishers including Julius Largaespada in the 1500m with a time of 3:54.22, Lincoln Guerrero in the hammer with a throw of 40.42m, Kaylyn Guerra in the discus with a throw of 35.81m, and Vanessa Portillo in the javelin with a toss of 35.23m. Portillo also took 3rd place in the hammer throw with a toss of 37.42m. Others were able to have impressive performances to punch their ticket to the Southern California Regional Prelims. Willie Mejia had a personal best in the javelin to take 5th place with a throw of 45.90m. In the 3000m steeplechase, Ezequiel Soto finished in 5th place with a time of 10:07.16. He also took 7th place in the 800m with a time of 1:57.74. Renee Cedeno continued to impress in the 400m with a 5th place finish and a time of 50.55 to continue his season into the regional meet. Finally, Samantha Medrano took 4th place in the 5000m with a time of 18:53.53. The team will now prepare for the Southern California Regional preliminaries that will take place at San Diego Mesa College on Friday, May 5.