The Ventura College women's track and field team took first of six teams and the men were third at the Western State Conference North meet hosted at the VC Sportsplex Friday. Pirate winners for the day were highlighted by the triple gold turned in by David Lopez who pulled off the 100 and 200 meter double, and he stormed from behind to victory on the anchor leg the 4x100 meter relay. Other winners included Kimora Pooler in the shot put, Cynthia Tuzak in the discus, and Olivia Burton in the 3000 meters.
The women's team took the team scoring title with 157 points to Cuesta at 111, followed by Bakersfield (92), Santa Barbara (58), Canyons (37), and Allan Hancock (11). The Men's team placed third overall as Cuesta had a one-point win over Canyons 131 to 130. The Pirates followed with 102.5 points, with Santa Barbara (75.5), Bakersfield (71), and Allan Hancock (3) rounding out the field.
Lopez pulled off the triple gold with personal records in both the 100 and 200 meters. His 10.78 in the 100 was just .01 seconds off the VC Top-10 record book. In the relay, Lopez closed the gap on the anchor leg, and Jaedon Rogers, Jason Mesa and Wyatt Stevenson put the team in position for the comeback win.
Leslie Valoaga finished second in the discus and third in the javelin while Lilly Christenson was runner-up in the triple jump. Brieanna Tafoya was second in the 400m and 800m and third 1500 meters while Burton also finished second in the 1500 meters. Tatiana Garcia claimed silver in the 3000 meters and Tuzak was third in the shot put. Maria Elizarraraz claimed bronze in the 800 meters.
Alan Nichols was second in the 400 meters and Adan Cruz came in second in the 3000 and third in the 1500 meters. Reuben Jacob finished second in the shot put and Darius Johnson was third in the Discus. Stevenson won bronze in both the 100 and 200 meters and Miguel Sanchez finished third in the 400 hurdles. The men's 4x400 meter relay of Mesa, Lopez, Isaiah Batis and Alan Nichols was third.
"The women really put together a great day," commented head track and field coach Tony Veney. "Depth was critical for us on Friday evidenced by 61 points in the throws and 58 points from the distance crew."
"Unlike the women's point distribution, 63 of the men's team points came from the sprint group highlighted by Lopez's 30 point contribution."
The Pirates will get a bye week and return to action Friday March 8 at the Occidental College Distance Carnival. Jump, throw, and sprint races start at 10:00 am, with the distance portion starting at 5:00 pm.