Mt. San Antonio wins seventh straight CCCAA NATYCAA Cup in close race

CCCAA NATYCAA Cup Standings
Daktronics Cup Standings (State Association Division)
Learfield IMG Cup Directors' Cup Standings (all schools)

SACRAMENTO – Two state championships and five other top-five placings provided the fuel for Mt. San Antonio College in the CCCAA race for the 2018-19 all-sports NATYCAA Cup, but the Mounties had to hold off stiff competition from Riverside City College and Fresno City College in order for the Mounties to claim their seventh straight title.

Mt. SAC posted 162 points in the final tally, edging Riverside, which finished with 159 points, and Fresno City, which took third with 152. Sierra College (146.5) led the standings after the midway point of the 2018-19 athletic year and took fourth, followed by American River (143.5), San Joaquin Delta (143.0), El Camino (130.0), Cerritos (113.5) and Orange Coast (112.0).

The National Alliance of Two-Year Collegiate Athletic Administrators will present the awards next Wednesday (June 12) during the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention in Orlando, Florida.

Colleges are awarded points based on their teams’ final positions in post-conference competition with state championships worth the most points (20). Each college’s top-five men’s and top-five women’s team results count toward the school’s overall point total. Complete standings, scoring criteria, and history of the NATYCAA Cup is available on the CCCAA website, http://cccaasports.org/NATYCAA/index.

Parity between Northern and Southern California schools was evidenced in the top 10 standings with each region placing five teams. SoCal had the first two spots before NorCal grabbed the next four. In all, nine programs scored at least 100 points and 86 of the CCCAA’s 108 members tallied at least three.

Mt. SAC’s three-point win was its closest during its seven-year streak. The Mounties won by four points over Orange Coast College in 2013-14 and by just five over Cerritos in 2015-16. They used state titles this year from men’s cross country and softball, a runner-up finish from men’s track and field and a third place from its men’s swimming and diving team to help lead the way. Fourth-place showings from its women’s track and field and cross country programs, as well a fifth place from wrestling, also brought big points.

The Mounties tallied 196.5 points overall but 34.5 – all from the men’s side – were deducted since only the top five scores counted.

Riverside had several strong showings as it chased Mt. SAC to the wire. A state championship from men’s track and field led the way while a runner-up finish from women’s track and top-three placings by football, men’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis were also big contributors. Fresno City picked up CCCAA championship banners in wrestling and women’s badminton, a second in women’s volleyball and top-three showings in football and men’s soccer.

Besides competing for the CCCAA title in the NATYCAA Cup chase, schools also were in races for the Daktronics Cup State Associations Division title and Learfield IMG Sports Directors Cup, the latter a competition among all community colleges in the United States. Mt. SAC was first and fourth, respectively, in the two standings while Riverside was third and sixth. In all, 16 of the top 20 spots in the state association standings are occupied by CCCAA schools.

NATYCAA is the professional organization of two-year college athletic administrators and membership is open to all two-year institutions throughout the country. The NATYCAA Awards were designed to recognize and reward overall program excellence at the two-year college level. The criterion for the State Association’s division was developed by the CCCAA in conjunction with the California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA).

This is the 16th year that NATYCAA has sponsored a State Association’s division. A list of previous CCCAA winners and complete standings from each year can be found at www.cccaasports.org.