South Coast Conference Championships Recap

The South Coast Conference showcased a repeat, then rest scenario for both the men’s and women’s teams from Mt. San Antonio College.

The Mounties swept the team titles again Friday at Heartwell Park in Long Beach.

It marked the 10th consecutive championship for the Mt. SAC men’s program, with the Mounties women’s lineup securing a fourth straight crown.

The top teams will advance to compete Nov. 8 at the Southern California Championships at Chaffey College’s Grigsby Field in Rancho Cucamonga.

Many other conference championships will take place next week, as the South Coast Conference benefits from an additional week of preparation for the regional final.

The morning started with a heavy fog, but once it lifted, L.A. Harbor College athlete Sherlyn Gomez reminded everyone of her performance at the Aug. 30 preview meet, as she led from the start of the 5-kilometer race and just kept extending her lead.

By the first mile, Gomez led by 14 seconds over East L.A. College competitor Kiyoko Divecchio and a trio of Mt. SAC athletes.

Once Gomez surpassed the second mile, she had increased her lead to almost 30 seconds.

Gomez triumphed in 18:33.1 and was followed by Mt. SAC Invitational winner Ava Cornell of the Mounties in 19:12.1.

Tigist Bergman (19:18.4) and Kaitlyn Reyes (19:20.1) were third and fourth, respectively, for Mt. SAC, with Divecchio finishing fifth in 19:33.2.

Mt. SAC placed five athletes in the top eight – including Jasmine Brandyberry (20:05.9) in sixth and Maya Estrada-Garcia (20:08.3) in eighth – to achieve a 23-point performance, easily in front of runner-up Cerritos at 73 points and third-place L.A. Harbor with 95 points.

All those teams will advance to the Southern Championships, along with East L.A. and El Camino College.

Mt. SAC produced four competitors in the top five, with a fifth athlete earning eighth to prevail with a 21-point effort, despite resting three of its top seven runners.

Cerritos had a strong showing finishing second with 46 points and El Camino took third at 74 points.

Meet host Long Beach finished fourth, followed by L.A. Harbor, with all five teams advancing to compete Nov. 8 at the regional championship meet.

Joshua Melendez of Cerritos took the early lead and had several of his teammates close behind.

As the lead group went through the first mile, Melendez still had the advantage, with three of his teammates in the top 12.

But as the race progressed and the packs stretched out, several Mt. SAC athletes, led by Jude Enriquez and El Camino’s Aaron Cohen moved up.

Melendez was still in the mix with Enriquez, Cohen and Mt. SAC’s Austin Ledgerwood through the 3-mile mark.

As they made the final turn, Ledgerwood – the 2022 conference champion – had opened up a lead and won by nine seconds, running 20:38 over the 4-mile course.

Melendez finished second in 20:47.4, followed by the Mt. SAC trio of Degas Peters (20:52.8), Diego Varela (20:52.8) and Bryce Jackson (20:56.1). Enriquez capped the scoring for the Mounties, clocking 21:00.1 to earn eighth place.