2009 MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
SECOND PLACE IN STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

05.19.12 - Daniel Herrera ends Cerritos career with pair of state titles
As a freshman, Cerritos College distance runner Daniel Herrera (El Rancho HS) finished in second place at the California Community College Athletic Association state championships in the 5000 meter and 10,000 meter races. In his sophomore season, Herrera came back to win the state title in the 10,000 meters at Falcon Stadium on Friday night and on the next day he captured the 5000 meter championship. His double-win makes him the 11th person in state history to win both events at the state championships. As a result of his two wins, which earned the Falcons 20 team points, the team finished in fifth place with 43 team points. Riverside College easily won their fourth state championship in the last five years, as they amassed 122 team points, while South Coast Conference rival Mt. San Antonio College was a distant second place with 91.20 team points.

Herrera, who ran the entire 10,000 meters along side freshman teammate Munir Kahssay (Western HS), easily were the first two runners to cross the finish line. Herrera entered the race with a school record time of 30:00.97, but elected to hold back and reserve some energy for the 5000 meters the next day. Both Herrera and Kahssay spent the race out in front and talked with each other back and fourth throughout, while Kahssay wound up posting a personal best time with his second place finish of 30:49.65, three seconds faster than his previous best...[more]

05.16.12 - Live results to be provided for state meet
Follow all of the live action at the 2012 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Track and Field Championships by clicking on:

www.rtspt.com/events/cccaa/2012

Cerritos will be represented by sophomore Daniel Herrera and freshman Munir Kahssay in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters, while the quartet of Juan Tapia, Mitchell Ramirez, Dominique Pearson and Seth George will compile the 1600-meter relay team.

05.12.12 - Cerritos takes third place at SoCal Championships
Thanks to the 36 points provided by distance runners Daniel Herrera (El Rancho HS) and Munir Kahssay (Western HS), the Cerritos College men's track and field finished in third place at the Southern California Championships at San Diego Mesa College on Saturday. The Falcons, who compiled 60 team points, were a distant third behind Riverside College, who won the championship with 200.333 points, while South Coast Conference rival Mt. San Antonio College came in second place with 116 points. The Cerritos duo will be joined by one relay team and another individual entry at the State Championships, which will be held at Falcon Stadium on Friday and Saturday.

Herrera, who broke his record time in the 10,000 meters the week before, followed up with a win in the 5000 meters, as he recorded a time of 14:39.72, which was less than three seconds ahead of Kahssay, who posted a second place time of 14:42.35. The duo have the two fastest times in the state in both the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters.

Also qualifying for the state championships is sophomore hurdler Seth George (Long Beach Wilson HS), who came in fourth at the Southern California Championships with a time of 52.85, while sophomore teammate Dominique Pearson (Long Beach Jordan HS) placed sixth in 53.63. The 1600-meter relay team of Pearson, sophomore Mitchell Ramirez (Buena Park HS), sophomore Juan Taipa (Long Beach Millikan HS) and George finished in third place in a time of 3:13.54, which advances them to the state championships.

Tapia, who had one of the fastest times in the state in the 400 meters, struggled at the start on Saturday and finished ninth, which eliminates him from advancing to the state championships. Ramirez came in eighth place in the Southern California finals. Tapia also took sixth in the 200 meters in 21.64, but his time was .03 seconds away from advancing. Freshman Jerrad Lipscomb (A.L. Brown, NC HS), who was expected to qualify in the 110-meter HH, stumbled over multiple hurdles on Saturday and failed to advance, while sophomore Shawn McCoy (Washington Prep HS) came in seventh place in 14.94. Sophomore Brandon Taylor (Mayfair HS) also saw his season come to an end when he finished in seventh place in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:59.99...[more]


05.05.12 - Falcons have 12 advance to SoCal Championships
Below is a list of Cerritos athletes that have advanced to the Southern California Championships, which will be held at San Diego Mesa College next Saturday. Additionally, the duo of sophomore Daniel Herrera (El Rancho HS) and Munir Kahssay (Western HS), who finished in first and second place in the 10,000 meters on Saturday, have advanced to the State Championships. Herrera broke his own record by posting a time of 30:00.97, while Kahssay's time of 30:52,.48 is now the second best time in school history. Those times are also the top two recorded in the state this season...[more]

04.27.12 - Cerritos finishes second at SCC Championships
Even with five first place and five second place finishes at the South Coast Conference Championships, the Cerritos College men's track and field team wasn't able to overtake Mt. San Antonio College, who won the team championship at Compton College on Friday. The Falcons compiled 153 points, but it was well off the 347.5 points put up by the Mounties. The top six finishers from each event, along with alternates and automatic qualifiers, will now advance to the Southern California Prelims, which will be held at San Diego Mesa College on Saturday...[more]

04.24.12 - School record falls at SCC Prelims
Although he's automatically been qualified to compete in both the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters at the Southern California Preliminaries, Cerritos College sophomore distance runner Daniel Herrera (El Rancho HS) still has goals he hopes to attain. At the Southern Coast Conference Preliminaries at Compton College on Tuesday, Herrera not only took first place in the 10,000 meter finals and earned the Falcons 10 team points, he also broke his school record with a time of 30:19.48. It breaks the mark he set last year of 31:11.80 and moves him closer to breaking the 30-minute mark. The win by Herrera, along with sophomore Brandon Taylor (Mayfair HS) winning the 3000-meter steeplechase, helped Cerritos to second place heading into the conference championships, which will take place at Compton College on Friday. The Falcons have compiled 51 team points already and trail only Mt. San Antonio College, who has 52 team points...[more]

04.21.12 - Falcons compete with four-year competition
Competing in one of the biggest invitationals of the year, the Cerritos College men's track and field team served as the host of the Beach Invitational this past weekend, which included 3,400 athletes with the majority of them coming from four-year colleges. With limited entries at the invitational, the Falcons turned in several strong finishes, as they prepare to compete in the South Coast Conference Preliminaries, which will take place at Compton College on Tuesday.

In the 200 meters, sophomore Juan Tapia (Long Beach Millikan HS) turned in a time of 21.49, which secured 10th place out of 88 entries, while he was just one of a small handful of community college runners. He just missed out on moving up several places, and won his heat on the day. Freshman sprinter Najee Jackson (Long Beach Millikan HS) was close to his personal best time of 10.74, as he turned in a time of 10.78, which put him in 25th place out of 81 runners. He also turned in the fastest time of any community college runner...[more]
 

04.14.12 - Juan Tapia wins 400 meters at Mt. SAC Invite
Cerritos College sophomore Juan Tapia (Long Beach Millikan HS) outraced all 27 entries in the 400 meters at the 54th Annual Mt. San Antonio Invitational on Saturday by posting a time of 47.31. Not only was his time the best of the day, it catapulted him into fourth place on the school's all-time list, as he moved ahead of Kenyon Stewart, who recorded a time of 47.37 in 2006. Next up for the Falcons is the Beach Invitational, which the team will host this Friday and Saturday...[more]

04.07.12 - Cerritos posts good results at invitational
In a field that included numerous Division II competition, along with club teams and other community colleges, the Cerritos College men's track and field team managed to post some impressive times, as they prepare for the final few meets of the season. The Falcons, who won two events at the Tiny Lister Invitational at Cal State Los Angeles on the day, also saw the fifth fastest time in the 400 meters in school history get recorded. The team will now compete in the Mt. San Antonio Relays on Saturday...[more]

04.06.12 - Daniel Herrera sets school record
Continuing to make a name for himself in the Cerritos College men's track and field record books, sophomore Daniel Herrera (El Rancho HS) broke his own record in the 5000 meters in Saturday at the Stanford Invitational. Although he only came in 16th place in Section 3 of the race, Herrera's time of 14:14.19 was good enough to break the previous standard he had set earlier in the year when he posted a 14:16.09 at the Benny Brown Invitational last month...[more]

03.30.12 - Strong times lead the way at Fullerton
In a last-minute decision, the Cerritos College men's track and field team felt that the rainstorm that was about to hit Northern California was going to force them to withdraw from the American River Invitational in Sacramento on Saturday. As a replacement, the Falcons decided to enter the Titan Twilight Open at Cal State Fullerton a day earlier in order to make sure the athletes had a chance to compete. The end result was that several strong times were turned in during the sprints. The team will split their squad this weekend, with a portion of the team travelling to Palo Alto to compete in the Stanford Invitational, with the remainder to compete in the Tiny Lister Invitational at Cal State Los Angeles...[more]

03.23.12 - Falcons excel in relays at Santa Barbara
Competing in a variety of relay races, the Cerritos College men's track and field team won two of the events, placed second in another and came in fourth place in two more. Individually, the Falcons had three individual winners, with two more second place finishes. This week, the team will head north to compete in the American River Invitational...[more]

03.16.12 - Strong showing leads Cerritos at Cal Relays
Each season, the Cerritos College track and field program hosts some of the bigger events in the state. On Friday, the Falcons play host to the California Relays, which included some of the top teams in the state, with the hosts turning in some of the better results of the day. The Falcons won a pair of events, came in second place in another event, third in four more events and fourth in two others. The team will look to improve on their showing this Friday when they travel to Santa Barbara for the Easter Relays.

Sophomore distance runner Luis Calderon (Whittier HS) captured the 10,000 meters with a time of 34:18.34, while the quartet of sophomores Seth George (Long Beach Wilson HS), Juan Tapia (Long Beach Jordan HS) and Mitchell Ramirez (Buena Park HS), along with freshman DeShaunte Lewis posted a time of 3:35.24 to capture the 1600-meter sprint medley relay race. In other running events, freshman sprinter Najee Jackson (Long Beach Millikan HS) turned in a time of 10.74 to come in third place out of 46 competitors, while sophomore Daniel Herrera (El Rancho HS) continued to add his name to the school's record book. Although he came in third place in the 800 meters, his time of 1:51.71 was the third best in school history. The pace he set helped enable College of the Canyons runner Chris Low post the fastest community college time in the country with a clocking of 1:50.30...[more]

03.12.12 - Pair of former Falcons win national titles
In his two seasons as a sprinter on the Cerritos College men's track and field team, Ameer Webb won the state championship in the 100 meters and 200 meters his sophomore year after capturing the 200 meters as a freshman and placed second in the 100 meters. As a junior on the Texas A&M University indoor track and field team, Webb recently won the NCAA Indoor Championship in the 200 meters at the Jackson Indoor Track with a time of 20.57 seconds. His Falcon teammate last season, jumper Karlin Stewart, just helped his Grand Canyon University indoor track and field team capture the NCAA Division II Championship last week. Stewart contributed to the championship by winning the national championship in the long jump.

As for Webb, he nearly broke the school record of 20.38 in the prelims of the 200 when he rocketed to a winning heat time of 20.39, the current world leader for 2012. Curtis Mitchell set the school record time when he won the NCAA Indoor title in 2010.

"It's awesome to stand on top of the podium to get the first place trophy," exclaimed Webb told the Texas A&M Sports Information staff. "That's all the words I have for it. I'm glad I got the 10 points for the win, because we needed them really bad. I'm glad I can contribute to my team. This laid out perfectly for what I want to accomplish this season. Running 20.39 is so close to my outdoor PR of 20.33 (at Cerritos). So, it just opens up a whole new world of times I can run outdoors...[more]

03.10.12 - Daniel Herrera sets another school record
Just last week, Cerritos College sophomore Daniel Herrera (El Rancho HS) set a new school record in the 1500 meters at the Beach Invitational. On Saturday, Herrera shattered his own school record in the 5000 meters with a clocking of 14:16.09 to come in fifth place in the Benny Brown Invitational at Cal State Fullerton. His old standard was 14:52.16 that he set during his freshman season. Herrera was the top community college runner in the race, and was joined by freshman Munir Kahssay (Western HS), who may have come in 27th place in the race, but his time of 15:02.29 was the third fastest time in school history. This Wednesday and Thursday, the Falcons will host the California Relays...[more]

03.03.12 - School record falls at Beach Invitational
It may have been called the Beach Invitational, hosted by Cal State Long Beach, and filled with men's track and field athletes from four-year universities. But in the 1500 meters, the highlight of the race was Cerritos College sophomore Daniel Herrera (El Rancho HS), who beat the entire field, and in the process, set a new school record. Herrera won the race with a time of 3:48.29, breaking the record time of 3:52.36 by Gabriel Hilbert last season and also edged out unattached racer Sam Hyams, who came in second place in 3:49.26. It was by far the best performance of a Falcon runner on the day. The Falcons will now travel to Cal State Fullerton this weekend for the Benny Brown Invitational...[more]

02.24.12 - Cerritos excels at Compton Invitational
Cerritos College freshman men's track and field athlete Munir Kahssay (Western HS) made the most of the first time he ran the 3000 meters at the collegiate level. While competing at the Compton Invitational on Friday, Kahssay not only won the event, he beat the rest of the field by 18 seconds, as he posted a time of 8:49.89. His closest competition was freshman teammate Jonathan Lynn (Pacifica HS), who finished in 9:07.17. It was one of two wins by Falcon athletes, with five others, including Lynn, posting second place finishes. Cerritos will now host the Beach Invitational this Friday and Saturday. The hammer will be the only event to be held on Friday, with the remainder of events to take place on Saturday. For the complete schedule click here: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/lbst/sports/c-track/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/12_BeachClassic.pdf..[more]

02.18.12 - Falcons win three events at Cerritos Invitational
Led by freshman Dionbrea Norris, who won one event and placed second in two others, the Cerritos College men's track and field team won three events, while they placed second in five others and third in two events at the Cerritos Invitational over the weekend. Norris won the triple jump, while his second place finishes came in the triple jump and long jump. He was the lone Falcon to finish in the top three in three events. The team will now compete in the Compton Invitational on Friday.

05.21.11 - Falcons finish second at state championships
For the second time in three seasons, the Cerritos College men's track team finished second overall at the California Community College Athletic Association State Championships, which were held at American River College over the weekend. The Falcons, who finished with 76 team points, trailed only the host Beavers, who posted 86 1/2 points. American River clinched the team championship in the 5000 meters, just prior to the final event of the night, the 4x400-meter relay race. The Falcons trailed by half a point, but did not have an entry in the relay race, while the Beavers wound up winning the 4x400-meter relay race for their 11 1/2-point team win...[more]

Back
Email: John Van Gaston, Ext. 2896
-FALCONS-