Long Beach City College took part in the Southern Coast Conference track preview on Saturday, giving impressive performances and showcasing what to expect for the upcoming track season.
This season, LBCC has many new faces on the track team as well as returning track & field members and cross-country runners.
Many coaches are also returning, including sprints/middle distance coach Ron Allice, who is now coaching his 60th year of track & field.
“Track is a developmental sport, people develop and there’s a big difference between preparation. Some were here in the fall and some weren’t, so you have to arrange your training scheme around a competitive schedule. So that’s our job as a coach, trying to get everybody ready when it counts,” Allice said in response to how he’s helped the team prepare for the season.
One of the Vikings’ top performers of the day was freshman sprinter Aniyah Wyche, who opened many eyes as she finished first place with a time of 7.91 seconds in the women’s 60-meter sprint.
“Trust the process and trust my coaches and each workout just keep pushing and striving to be better and to practice with a mindset that I could be a better person than I was yesterday, you can expect us to take over state,” Wyche stated after the race.
Another great performance the Vikings had during the meet was when freshman hurdler Devarriea Oles finished first for the Vikings and third overall in the men’s 60 hurdles.
Aside from some impressive running performances, LBCC also showed off some good skills on the field as well.
A performance that stood out was when freshman jumper Mia Jamerson took first place in the women’s triple jump with a distance of 11.21 meters.
To go along with Jamerson’s phenomenal triple jump performance, she also won first place in the women’s long jump, jumping for a distance of 5.40 meters.
Following Jamerson’s first-place finish is fellow men’s teammate Jai Banks-Chambers, as the sophomore jumper also finished first in the men’s long jump.
Women’s head coach Karen Vigilant, mentioned how the team was a little bit rusty going back into competing
“This is the first meet jitters, just getting a feel of how they are running and boost their confidence. Now they’ll know what to do and they’ll take practice a little bit more seriously,” Vigilant stated.
The Vikings will look to build on what they’ve learned so far at the team’s next meet on Feb. 16 at the Ron Allice Open in Long Beach.