COS track and field dominates at Nor-Cal Finals

The COS men's track and field team are the 2015 Northern California champions while the women's team finished second in what turned out to be one of the gutsiest performances by a team as a whole in COS history. Last weekend, the COS team competed in the Northern California Championships held at American River College in Sacrament. "We were predicted to come in third for the men and sixth for the women. We had a lot of heart and each individual on this team gave their all" said COS head track and field coach Curtis Allen.

The men's championship came down to the final race of the night which was the 4x400. COS was leading the meet over host American River College by two points. COS needed to finish ahead of American River in the 4x400 to hold them off to win the championship. American River had the lead in the race after the first two laps and were tied with COS after three. That is when Drelan Bramwell took the baton, and the lead, and never looked back. The COS men's team won the event, and the meet, by running a 3:11 in the 4x400.

Other men who won events last Friday were Drelan Bramwell who won the individual championship for the 100m and the 200m. Theon Lewis won the 400m with a time of 47.53. Daniel Garcia took fifth place in the 5000m and third place in the 10000m. Shain Hale took second in the 110m hurdles while Marlon Dixon won the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.49.

For the COS women's team, Dejah Stevens and Yesenia Silva turned in to of the best individual performances ever for a COS track and field athlete. Dejah Stevens scored 30 points singled handedly by winning the women's 200m with a time of 23.35, the women's 400m with a time of 55.41, and she also won the women's long jump by clearing 19 feet six inches. Silva also had a phenomenal individual performance by winning the women's 1500m and 5000m and taking second in the women's 800m and scoring an amazing 28 points for the women's team.

One other phenominal individual performance for the COS women's team was brought in by Shaunie Morrison who won the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.70. Morrison was able to defeat the defending state champion, Kortni Jones from Laney College, who had never lost a California Community College race until finishing second to Morrison by two tenths of a second.

The most exciting race of the night came in the women's 4x400 relay. Dejah Stevens came through in a big way for COS once again in the last race of the night. Stevens, running the anchor leg for the relay team, took the baton down nearly 30 yards and in fourth place. With 200 meters to go, Stevens took the lead and blew away from the pack and finished nearly 30 yards ahead of the second place team to cap an exciting night for COS. COS was able to secure a second place finish in the Northern California championship despite only having seven athletes qualify for the meet.