COC Track & Field Student-Athletes Commit to Four-Year Schools

Four members of the College of the Canyons track & field program will be competing at the next level in 2015-16, with sophomore Dominique Dowell and freshmen Ashton Garcia, Sike Azu-Irondi and Mikala Fairchild, each accepting offers to four-year schools.

Garcia, who was also a member of the college's 2014 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Champion cross country team, heads to UC Irvine, an NCAA Division I program.

In 2014, Garcia earned All-Western State Conference (WSC) First Team honors in cross country and was an All-WSC Second Team track & field honoree in the 1,500m and 5,000m events.

Likewise, Azu-Irondi, the 2014 WSC champion in the 100m, is heading to UC Santa Barbara, another NCAA Division I program.

Azu-Irondi also earned All-WSC First Team honors in the 200m and was an All-WSC Second Team selection in the 4x100m and 4x400m relay events. 

Dowell, a two-time Junior College All-American in cross country and the 2015 WSC Champion in the 10,000m, heads to UC Riverside, an NCAA Division II program.

Dowell also set school records in the 3,000m and 10,000m events and was named a 2014 Academic All-State Honoree during her sophomore campaign.

Meanwhile, Fairchild, a 2015 JC All-American in both the 1,500m and 5,000m will compete for The Master's College, an NAIA affiliated program.

In 2015 Fairchild won the WSC championship in the 1,500m, while setting new school records in both the 1,500m and 5,000m events. She also earned All-WSC Second Team honors in the 800m and 5,000m events.

Dowell and Fairchild were also both members of the college's 2015 women's track & field team that brought home the program's first WSC championship in school history.