Eight runners treated for heat exhaustion at cross-country meet

Costa Mesa firefighters responded to a call Saturday morning when eight junior college athletes reportedly experienced heat exhaustion at Fairview Park.

At about 11:43 a.m., six runners at the Orange Coast Cross-Country Classic — hosted by Orange Coast College — were transported to local hospitals for minor heat-related injuries. Two other runners also experienced heat exhaustion but were released after receiving attention at a medical tent at the park, Capt. Chip Dill of the Costa Mesa Fire Dept., said.

Dill did not know the condition of the runners who were taken to the hospital, but did say: “There’s nothing that appeared from what we saw that would be considered major.”

Saturday’s high reached 101 degrees at about 1 p.m. in Costa Mesa. On Monday, the expected heat wave had forced Orange Coast College officials to move the school’s football game against Long Beach City College from 1 to 6 p.m.

The cross-country meet — which featured a 5k race for women and a 4-mile race for men — was set to start at 9:30 a.m., with the final event scheduled for 11:45 a.m.

— Brittany Woolsey