Weather Clears for Track & Field Meet

The day started off fairly sluggish, due to the chance of rain, but like a strike of gold, the clouds opened up just in time for the beginning matches.

Friday's Western Conference Track and Field Mini Meet, at Santa Monica College, was one of many proportions.

SMC student athletes proved themselves to be a dominating force in the track and field area, while others worked hard at placing in the very aggressive pit competitions.

SMC students were up against competition from Moorpark College, Santa Barbara City College and Glendale Community College.

The opening events began at three o'clock sharp with the women's 4x100 meter relay, where each woman runs 100 meters around the track.

The sight was extremely exciting and intense to watch, as the women jumped off to a roaring start.

Frances Jones exploded from her starting point as the second hand to receive the baton, and dominated the field as she flew around the track.

The relay lasted all of 52.8 seconds, but won the SMC women's relay team first place.

The men's relay was close when SMC came only second to Moorpark's men.

Then came the men's 1500-meter run, and again SMC students towered over the rest of the camp.

Sophomore Mo Elmi, a standout last year in the cross country team advanced to the State Championships.

A crowd favorite, Elmi pushed hard all the way to the finish line where he and his "Mo-hawk" placed first, with 4:08.5 mile.

When asked about his feelings on his win, Elmi modestly replied, "Pretty good, I've been waiting for it."

Along with the outstanding all-stars, other athletes stood out as well: from the women's 100-meter hurdles, Christian Burrell's determination made a huge contribution to the overall numbers, and won her first place in that competition.

The scene was a bit chaotic to watch, when all the hurdles had to be taken down and off the track, while other events where being announced.

Freshman Luis Acosta participated in the shot-put and discus competitions.

He was able to place third in the shot-put competition.

Sandra Hendricks and Brunk both ran an outstanding race and placed in the men and women's 100-meter runs.

There were some matches in which SMC athletes did not participate, unfortunately.

The overall performance of the entire SMC squad was amazing, and attending a meet would prove to be beneficial.

The next meet will be held this Saturday at Cerritos College, which will host the Cerritos Invitational.