Canyons Enters Final Stretch at WSC Prelims, Hall and Bowers Win Conference Crowns

The College of the Canyons track & field program has entered the final stretch of its season with the Cougars having competed at last week's Western State Conference (WSC) Prelims meet hosted by Bakersfield College.

While the majority of the day's events served as qualification heats for the upcoming WSC Finals meet on April 28, conference champions were crowned in the men's and women's high jump, long jump, shot put, discus and 10,000m.

COC sophomore Jasmine Hall gave the Cougars an early boost with her first place leap of 1.68m in the high jump, to edge teammate Kaitlyn Matthews' second place mark of 1.63m. Both will move on to compete in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) SoCal Championships in May.

Hall also placed fourth in the long jump finals at a distance of 5.20m, first in the 100h prelims (14.85), and second in the 200m prelims at 25.48.

Sophomore Dana Bowers also emerged with a conference title, after throwing a distance of 11.96m in the shot put. Once again, Canyons finished one and two in the event with sophomore Samiyah Hawkins ranking next at 11.65m. Hall also factored into the scoring with a fifth-place throw of 10.79m. 

Hawkins later threw for a distance of 37.82m in the discus finals to finish as runner up in the event.

Jessica Ruiz took fourth in the 10,000m finals with a time of 40.16.96. 

For the men's team, sophomore Diontre Harris took fifth in the shot put finals with a throw of 13.07m and sixth in the discus with a distance of 40.15m. 

Delon Buncio was COC's top finished in the long jump with a leap of 6.54m. Likewise for Marcel Sylvester with a sixth place mark of 1.89m in the high jump. 

COC freshman Garrett Noltemeyer took fourth in the 10,000m at 34:17.17. 

Other top qualifiers for COC included the second place 400m time of 49.29 by Leo Lambert III  and the time of 1:57.01 in the 800m turned in by Travis Larson.

At the conclusion of five finals events the COC women's team is in first place, while the men's team sits in fourth.

Canyons will now compete at the WSC Finals hosted by Moorpark College on Friday, April 28.