Three Hancock Track and Field Athletes Finish in Top 12 at WSC Finals

Freshman Jacob De Simas set a career high in the men's hammer throw final to lead a contingent of eight Allan Hancock College track and field athletes who participated in individual events during the Western State Conference Finals Friday at Moorpark College.

De Simas finished 11th in the field of 20 throwers with a mark of 102 feet, 10 inches. Kevin Lopez finished 16th with a toss of 78-7. Jacob Whitby from Bakersfield won the title with a throw of 167-6.

In the javelin throw, Lopez finished 12th with a top throw of 123-6, DeSimas came in 14th at 113-8, and Hancock freshman Zoran Vargas placed 18th at 99-8 out of 22 throwers. Canyons' Delon Buncio with a top throw of 181-6.

Freshman Letarian Brandon finished 14th in the men's triple jump with a top jump of 39 feet, 11.5 inches. Brian Nnoli of Santa Barbara won the crown with a mark of 47-7.75. The Bulldogs' Jose Cardenas finished 22nd in the men's 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:14.35.

On the women's side, Alondra Cardoza finished ninth in the women's 800 with a time of 2:52.91. Michele Marceleno and Mireya Martinez also competed in the women's 5K. Marceleno finished in 23:50.26 and Martinez crossed in 24:25.55.

Last week, freshman Davina Valerio finished second in the women's pole vault final with a mark of 9 feet, 0.25 inch, and placed third in the long jump final with a top mark of 16 feet, 2.5 inches. The Pioneer Valley High School graduate qualified for the Southern California Regionals Prelims in both events by finishing in the top six.

As of now, Valerio is the only Bulldog to qualify for regionals. Additional qualifiers may be added to the field later this weekend.

The Southern California Prelims will be on Friday, May 3 at Riverside College.