Butler earns state crown

BAKERSFIELD ? Orange Coast College sophomore Jewel Butler won the women’s 1,500 meters to highlight Pirates competing at the community college state track and field championships Saturday at Bakersfield College.

Butler, whose time of four minutes, 42.6 seconds was about 3 1/3 seconds faster than her effort at the Orange Empire Conference Finals, surged past Bakersfield’s Brittany Grimes in the final 1,000 meters to earn the victory.

OCC freshman Scott Burbach was second in the men’s javelin with a mark of 187 feet, 11 inches.

Sophomore Gabriela Santana was third in the women’s 5,000 in 18:54.34 and also finished 11th in the 1,500 with a time of 5:21.43.

Sophomore Cameron Clavin was third in the men’s discus throw (159-6) and 10th in the javelin (159-9).

Sophomore Chris Burbach was third in the men’s javelin (184-9), while freshman teammate Lance Gonzalez was fifth in the men’s decathlon (6,211 points), fifth in the high jump (6-6) and seventh in the javelin (171-0).

Sophomore Araceli Huerta was fifth in the women’s 10,000 in 40:18.0 and fifth in the 3,000 steeplechase (12:25.34).

Sophomore Ignacio Perez was seventh in the men’s long jump with a mark of 22-3 3/4 .

The Orange Coast women finished ninth in the team standings, while the men wound up in 10th.

“A top-10 finish for both teams was very nice to see,” Orange Coast Coach John Knox said in a statement. “I thought it was a very good meet for us.”dpt-occtrack22.IMGGraphicInfoOE1R6C4820060522OE1R6C48No Caption