Eleven South Coast Conference men's cross country titles in a row for Mt. SAC
LONG BEACH - Mt. San Antonio College extended its remarkable streak of South Coast Conference men's cross country titles to 11 years running as the Mounties placed nine of the top 14 racers in winning the 2024 SCC Championships Friday at Long Beach's Heartwell Park.
The Mounties scored 21 points to outdistance Cerritos for second place (46) and El Camino in third (74).
Mt. SAC's Austin Ledgerwood won the individual 4-mile race in a time of 20 minutes, 38.1 seconds as he defeated Cerritos' Joshua Melendez, who took second at 20:47.4. It was the ninth straight SCC finals that a Mounties' runner placed first overall (2020 there was no championship due to the pandemic). Melendez just missed out of all-conference last year when he placed 15th.
Mounties racers Jude Enriquez (eighth) and Joel Fischer (12th) as well as El Camino's Alan Canales (ninth) were back-to-back All-SCC selections.
El Camino's Teddy Kassa continues to be the answer to the trivia question: When was the last time a non-Mt. SAC runner won the SCC race? Year: 2014.
Mt. San Antonio's cross country streak is third-longest among all South Coast men's sports, just behind the most (12) held by both Los Angeles City basketball (1996-2007) and Mt SAC track and field (1997-2008).
The top runners from other SCC colleges in the 121-man field were El Camino's Aaron Cohen in seventh (a 2-time All-SCC First Teamer, third in 2023), LA Harbor's Aidan Taylor in 28th, Long Beach's Jamari Gibson in 33rd, East LA's Sonny Rodriguez in 43rd, Pasadena's Teddie Wen in 56th, and Compton's Nathan Ibarra in 84th.
MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Mt. San Antonio 21, 2. Cerritos 45, 3. El Camino 74, 4. Long Beach City 129, 5. LA Harbor 139, 6. East LA 178, 7. Pasadena City 181, 8. Compton 254
Mt. San Antonio College (Champions)
Article courtesy of the South Coast Conference/Robert Lewis, SCC SID