W. Track & Field: SoCal Championships nets second place finish for the Falcons

Led by four first place finishes, the Cerritos College women's track and field team finished in second place at the Southern California Championships on Friday, which were held at Cerritos. The Falcons, who finished with 116 team points, trailed only South Coast Conference rival Mt. San Antonio College, who totaled 147 team points. It also marked the second consecutive runner-up finish at the SoCal Championships for Cerritos. The team will be sending 12 individual entries, as well as both relay teams to the 3C2A State Championships, which will take place next weekend at Saddleback College.

The top four finishers with State A Standard times in lane events have advanced, while a fifth spot will advance depending on the faster time between the South and North. In the distance races and field events, the top six with State A Standards also advance.

Sophomore Elena Mack (El Camino Real Charter HS), who qualified for the state championships last season in the 400 meters, posted a winning time of 55.28 on Friday, which is also the second best time in the state. She will also be joined in the 200 meters by sophomore Alona Davis (Bellflower HS), as the two took two of the top four places. Davis, who competed in the 2019 state championships for the Falcons, posted a second place time of 24.45, while Mack's time of 24.85 put her in fourth place. Davis also took second place in the 100 meters with a posting of 12.11.

The two also represent half of the 4x100-meter relay team that came in second place with a time of 47.60 and consisted of Jasmine Soto-Castro (Schurr HS), Mack, Crystal Nguyen (Fountain Valley HS) and Davis. As for the 4x400-meter relay team of Mack, Zharia Taylor (Long Beach Poly HS/University of Southern Mississippi), Nguyen and Soto-Castro, their time of 3:59.42 was the best of the day and earned them a first place result. Taylor also qualified in the high jump, as her height of 1.65 meters put her in second place. Esmeray Demirbas of Orange Coast College also cleared 1.65 meters, but did it on her first attempt, which earned her first place. Taylor cleared 1.65 meters on her third, and last, attempt.

In the throwing events, Milika Burdett (Cypress HS) earned a first and second place finish, while Dimitra Vitogiannis (Downey HS) won the championship in the discus. Burdett recorded a distance of 49.11 to win the hammer and is the second best distance in the state this season. Her throw of 11.81 meters earned her a second place in the shot put, while Vitogiannis not only turned in the fourth best discus throw in school history at 46.50 meters, it also represents the best throw in the state this season. Andrea Villalta (Norwalk HS), who already has the best javelin throw in the state this season (41.21 meters), won the SoCal Championship with a distance of 39.77 meters.

The Falcons will also be represented in the 3000-meter steeplechase, as Megan Feitz (Fountain Valley HS) posted the sixth best time in the state at 11:43.82 and also improves on her fifth best time in school history. Taylor, who came in third place in the heptathlon earlier in the season, will also compete in the state championships.

Below is a list of Cerritos athletes that competed in the Southern California Championships. Those in BOLD have advanced to the 3C2A State Championships.