The College of the Canyons track & field program posted another strong showing at last week’s Western State Conference (WSC) Finals, as the Cougars placed second on both sides while just missing out on conference crowns.

The women’s team combined for five WSC titles while finishing just 10.5 points behind conference champion West Los Angeles College.

COC brought home titles in the javelin (Dana Bowers), long jump (Marissa Kneisel), high jump (Kaitlyn Matthews) the previous week, to build some momentum heading into the event, which was hosted by Bakersfield College on Friday, April 29.

The Cougars added championships in the 3,000m steeplechase, as Amanda De Jesus clocked a time of 11:57.15 to best the second place finisher by more than 47 seconds. Coincidentally, COC took the event’s top five spots, withJessica Ruiz (12:44.33), Lizeth Flores (12:44.33), Alexandra Whitman (12:48.14) and Chelsea Wells (12:48.14), following right behind De Jesus.

Ruiz also added a conference championship in the 5,000m with a time of 19:21.22 to narrowly beat out second place Brenda Sanchez of Glendale College who finished at 19:23.04. De Jesus took third in the event at a time of 19:29.90.

On the men’s side, COC tallied 135 event points to trail first place Cuesta College at 141.

COC sophomore Jason Hillquist brought home the conference title in the 3,000m steeplechase with a mark of 9:37.86.

As a result of their collective performance, both the COC men’s and women’s teams — and several individual athletes — have qualified for the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) SoCal Regional Championships.

The SoCal Championship prelims will be held Saturday, May 7, at Antelope Valley College. Throwing events will begin at 9 a.m. with sprints and jumps to follow beginning at 11 a.m.

The SoCal Regional Finals will be held the following week, beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 14.