By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

CERRITOS — College of the Canyons had two student-athletes place in the top-10 at the Southern California Heptathlon/Decathlon Championships this week.

The annual two-day event hosted by Cerritos College attracted a field of 14 in the heptathlon, including Takaira Beard and Megan Carbajal from COC. The Cougars did not have an entry in the decathlon event.

Beard was the top finisher for Canyons after accumulating 3,451 points to place eighth at the event.

The freshman, and former Valencia High School star, bolstered her position by winning the high jump at a mark of 1.61m.

Beard also placed seventh in the shot put (8.21m), fifth in the 200m (27.12), tied for fourth in the long jump (4.88m), eighth in the javelin (25.02m) and fourth in the 800m (2:31.08), but suffered a disqualification in the 100h.

Those numbers earned the Cougars a point in the women’s team scores at the upcoming CCCAA SoCal Championships on May 12, and will keep Beard in contention for a trip to the State Championships May 18-19 in Bakersfield. The top six competitors from both the North and South regions earn a qualifying bid to the state meet, however in the absence of six automatic qualifiers from the North, Beard could still snag one of the final qualifying spots.

Carbajal, also a Valencia product, ended day one in ninth place before eventually finishing the event in the No. 10 spot with 3,241 points. She placed seventh in the 100h (17.63), eighth in the high jump (1.40m), 10th in the shot put (7.87m), 12th in the 200m (29.06), seventh in the long jump (4.71m), 11th in the javelin (19.30m), and ninth in the 800m (2:46.32).

The Cougars will continue a busy week of competition at the annual Vaquero Classic hosted by Glendale College on Saturday, April 7. Events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Stay up to date on all this season’s action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

—Photo Courtesy of Cerritos College Sports Information