Bobcats win OEC title

The Saddleback women's cross-country team won the Orange Empire Conference championship on Friday afternoon at Central Park in Huntington Beach.  The Bobcats edged both Orange Coast College and Riverside City College for the conference crown.

Things could not have been tighter at the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Finals on Friday.  The top three scoring teams were separated by only two points as the Bobcats captured a one-point win.  Saddleback finished with an aggregate score of 40 while Orange Coast was at 41 and Riverside City 42.

Saddleback was led by Danna Ibarra Canales, who captured the OEC title in blazing fashion.  Ibarra Canales (below) crossed the finish line in the 5k trek in 18:33.91 to finish nearly 13 seconds in front of her closest competitor, Liberty Miller (Orange Coast). 

Ibarra Canales wasn't alone in great performances on Friday as the entire Saddleback team was in rare form.  The Bobcats finished 1-6-7-11-15 in the team competition to narrowly edge their two conference rivals.

Kiana Zerehgar (20:27.21) finished sixth while Leilani Vivaldo (20:57.07) was seventh, giving Saddleback three of the top seven harriers in the race.  Midori McConathy (21:23.48) finished 12^th overall and 11^th in team competition while Lillian Bigda (22:40.35) was 18^th overall and 15^th in the team competition.

The conference championship on Friday was the first for the program since 2019 when Saddleback finished second in the state.

Saddleback will compete again at the Southern California Regional Finals next Friday at Chaffey College.