Orange Coast Women Win a State Title

Donna Harris, Arceli Martinez and Christine Riel finished in the top 10 as the Orange Coast women won the state community college cross-country championships Saturday in Fresno.

Harris finished fourth individually in 18 minutes 39 seconds on the Woodward Park course. Martinez was fifth in 18:44 and Riel eighth in 18:59.

Saddleback finished eighth with 262 points and was led by Lisa DeFazio, who was 19th in 19:31. Gina DeFazio was next for the Gauchos, finishing 29th in 19:41.

Santa Ana was 15th and was led by Miriam Garcia’s time of 19:42. Irvine Valley’s lone runner, Lesley Bindloss, came in 10th with a time of 19:08.

In the men’s state championships:

Saddleback places sixth--Saddleback led all Orange County schools with a score of 214. Daniel Gaston was 12th with a time of 20 minutes 56 seconds for Saddleback. Kent Roberts finished 27th at 21:20, and Tony Trueba was 35th (21:29).

Santa Ana finished ninth with 301 points, led by Alex Reyes in the 41st spot at 21:33. Juan Soto placed in the top 50, finishing 48th (21:39).

In the Irvine Valley Bill Mulligan men’s basketball tournament:

Irvine Valley 57, Cerritos 56--Irvine Valley won the title for the first time after holding off a late charge by Cerritos, the defending champions. The Lasers (4-0) took their biggest lead, 45-34, on a basket by point guard Robert Griffin with 11 minutes 47 seconds left in the second half.

In the Fullerton men’s basketball tournament:

Los Angeles Valley 89, Fullerton 73--Fullerton guard Erick Ashe scored 22 points in a losing effort in the championship game.

Los Angeles Valley, which shot 57% from the floor, was led by Leon Brisport, who had 34 points and eight rebounds.

In the Southern California Regional Wrestling Championships:

Gilbert wins--Cypress’ Adam Gilbert won the 190-pound individual championship to lead a group of 11 local qualifiers for the state tournament, Dec. 5-6 at West Valley.