COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Irvine’s Yaba Finishes Second in Big West Meet

UC Irvine’s Jo Jo Yaba took second place, finishing the 3.1-mile course in 18 minutes 36 seconds, one second behind Nevada’s Rochelle Hair, to lead the Anteaters to a second-place finish in the Big West Conference cross-country championships Saturday in Logan, Utah.

Laura Monson finished fifth for Irvine in 18:51. Cal State Fullerton, which took fourth place behind Utah State, was led by Heather Killeen’s fourth-place finish (18:45) and Teresa Santana’s sixth place (18:56).

Favorite UC Santa Barbara captured the team title.

Long Beach State finished seventh, led by Christa Ayuso’s 13th-place finish (19:11).

On the men’s side, Utah State’s Mike Davidson took first place, finishing the five-mile course in 25:07, to lead the Aggies to the conference championship.

Irvine’s Bryan Contreras finished fifth (25:34), helping the Anteaters take third place in the team standings behind UC Santa Barbara.

Cal State Fullerton’s Mark Sinderson was sixth (25:44), leading the Titans to a fourth-place finish. Long Beach State, led by Pat Bendzick’s 18th-place showing, was fifth.

Hair was named the women’s athlete of the year and Davidson earned the honor on the men’s side.

In the UNLV Rebel Invitational men’s soccer tournament:

Cal State Sacramento 2, UC Irvine 1--Bret Cowan’s second-half goal was not enough for the Anteaters (11-7). Brandon Cavitt and Jamel Mitchell scored for Cal State Sacramento.

In the Golden State Athletic Conference:

Southern California College 2, Concordia 0--Jesus Miramontes, a former Sunny Hills player, and Peter Schumerth, who played for Esperanza, each scored a goal for Southern California College (7-11-1, 3-6). Bonner Rinn had eight saves for Concordia (4-13-1, 0-9).

In nonconference women’s soccer:

Cal State Fullerton 4, Cal State San Bernardino 2--Dana Mariotti scored two goals and Amber Thompson and Erin Rico each added one to lead host Cal State Fullerton (5-7-2). The victory stopped the Titans’ winning streak at two games.

In Big West volleyball:

Long Beach State 3, Cal State Fullerton 0--Traci Dahl had nine kills and Nichelle Burton had eight for Long Beach State (17-3, 12-1) in a 15-2, 15-1, 15-5 victory. Lisi Fa’agata had seven kills for the Titans, who dropped to 0-22, 0-11.

UC Santa Barbara 3, UC Irvine 0--Popi Edwards had nine kills and five digs for UC Irvine, which lost, 9-15, 4-15, 4-15. The Anteaters fell to 6-16, 5-10. UC Santa Barbara is 20-4, 9-2.

In Golden State Athletic Conference volleyball:

Southern California College 3, Biola 2--Janine Katter had 21 kills and Angela Tonavanik added 18 to lead visiting Southern California College past Biola, 11-15, 15-2, 15-6, 15-17, 15-7. The Vanguards (17-9, 6-7) clinched at least an at-large playoff spot for the second consecutive year.

In nonconference women’s volleyball:

Chapman 3, Whittier 0--Shawna Parkinson had 17 kills and Lori Fuller added 13 to lead Chapman (22-7) to a 15-13, 15-3, 15-4 victory at home.