Bobcats fourth at Saddleback Invite

The Saddleback men's track & field team finished fourth at the Saddleback Invitational on Saturday inside the stadium.  The Bobcats had a number of solid performances at the 2^nd annual event.

A total of 17 teams competed on the men's side and Saddleback finished with 50 points to finish fourth overall.  The Bobcats had 14 top-10 finishes and eight finishes in the top-5.

Brandon Pizano-Pintor was the lone winner of the event, opening up the day with a win in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.  Pizano-Pintor finished in 10:02.90, which was the second fastest time in the state this season.  The Bobcats completely dominated the event with Timothy Lacanienta finishing third (10:32.00) and Jacob Bambao fifth (10:57.40).

Saddleback was very solid in field events, with a number of top-5 finishes.  Ja'Qorie Goodson had two of them, finishing fourth in the long jump (6.35 m) and fifth in the triple jump (12.81 m).  Trazler McGrath finished fourth in the pole vault (3.95 m) while Daniel May was fourth in the javelin (44.43 m) and Ezekiel Sapp was fourth in the discus (36.56 m).

Saddleback had five other finishes in the top-10.  James Begando was eighth in the triple jump (12.66 m) and 10^th in the long jump (6.16 m).  Ezekiel Sapp finished sixth in the hammer throw (35.78 m) and Daniel May was eight in the discus (34.84 m).  Cole Whitten finished eighth in the high jump (1.7 m) while Ryan Doherty was 10^th in the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.20).

San Diego Mesa College won the team event, with El Camino College finishing second and Cerritos College third.  Two other programs from the Orange Empire Conference were involved, with Orange Coast College finishing fifth and Fullerton College 15^th.

Saddleback will be back in action this week, hosting the Orange Empire Conference heptathlon/decathlon on Wednesday and Thursday.