No. 8 seed College of the Canyons will boast nine all-conference honorees and a pair of All-Southern California team members when the Cougars continue their championship hunt at this weekend’s California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Super Regional.
COC freshman shortstop Danielle Chatman and freshman outfielder Heidi Ludy were both named to the California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association (3CFCA) All-Southern California team after finishing first and second on the team, respectively, in batting average.
Chatman leads COC with a .477 batting average to also rank fourth in the Western State Conference. She is the team leader in runs (54) and tied for the top spot in home runs (8).
Her 61 hits and .514 on-base percentage both rank second on the team. Chatman has also added 42 RBIs and 12 stolen bases along the way, while striking out just once this season.
“Chatman has been a workhorse for us all season and a model of consistency,” said COC head coach John Wissmath, pointing to the fact that his starting shortstop recorded a hit in all but three games she played in this season.”
Ludy is batting .467 to rank second on the team and fifth in the conference. She has 44 RBIs and 18 stolen bases on the year to go with a team-leading .518 on-base percentage.
“Heidi is the most improved player on the team,” said Wissmath. “She has played lights out all season.”
Both Chatman and Ludy were All-WSC, East Division First Team selections, along with sophomore pitcher Alexis Ramirez.
Ramirez finished the regular season with a 12-7 record in 25 starts. The right-hander tossed 115 and 1/3 innings with an ERA of 4.35 while striking out 58 batters.
All-WSC Second Team selections included sophomore center fielder Melanie Abzun and freshman infielders Sienna Vannoy, Micayla Aguilar and Katie Clinkunbroomer.
Abzun leads the Cougars in hits (63), doubles (15) and stolen bases (20) while batting .423 from the leadoff spot. Her eight home runs are tied with Chatman for the team lead, while her 50 runs rank second.
Vannoy and Aguilar split time rotating between first base and the designated player position this season, with each slugging their way to All-WSC honors. Vannoy is batting .419 with seven home runs, 46 RBIs, 50 runs and 11 stolen bases. Meanwhile, Aguilar is hitting at a .426 clip with six home runs, 47 RBIs and 40 runs. Clinkunbroomer is batting .299 with 13 runs, 14 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 37 games at second base.
Sophomore Azmarheen Anderson and Alexis Avila were both tabbed as Honorable Mention selections. Anderson, who split time behind the dish and in the outfield, is batting .375 with seven home runs, 32 RBIs, 45 runs and 14 stolen bases. Avila has a .352 batting average to go with 35 runs, 27 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
Canyons will next face No. 1 seed and Orange Empire Conference champion Cypress College (42-0, 21-0) in the opening game of the Super Regional at 1 p.m. on Friday.
The Cougars and Chargers will be joined by No. 4 Palomar College (28-11) and No. 5 Santiago Canyon College (31-10) in the double-elimination tournament. All four teams won their opening round playoff matchups 2-0.
The winner of this weekend’s Super Regional will advance to the CCCAA State Championship tournament as one of two schools representing Southern California.
A full CCCAA Super Regional bracket can be found at www.CCCAAsports.org.
COC Men’s Golf Qualifies for State Championship Tourney
The Cougars will tee off in the CCCAA State Championship tournament for a sixth straight season after finishing third at the Southern California Championships held at El Camino Country Club on Monday.
The Cougars carded a five-man team score of 765 (392/373) over 36 holes of play to finish behind second place Cypress College at 758 (380/378) and event champion Riverside City College at 750 (380/370). Ventura College came in at 774 (389/385) to claim the final qualifying spot for the state championship tournament.
Representing the northern region at the state finals will be Reedley College, Chabot College, Folsom Lake College and Modesto Junior College.
Ben Campbell (79/72) and Ricky Hoefert (79/72) shot identical rounds to tie for a team-best score of 151.
Travis Fay (80/74) had his first round scratched but still ended up with the second lowest total on the day for COC at 154.
Jaeyeol Kim (79/76) and Alexander Laendin (76/79) both ended at 155. Daniel Taplin (79/80) ended his day at 159, but had has second round scratched.
Canyons has now made 22 trips to the state finals dating back to the 1988 season, having claimed seven state titles along the way (1993, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015).
The 2017 CCCAA State Championships will begin at 7 a.m. Monday at Cypress Ridge Golf Course in Arroyo Grande.
COC Sees Three Swim at State Championships
COC sent three student-athletes to compete at the 2017 edition of the CCCAA Swimming & Diving State Championships, held May 4-6 at East Los Angeles College.
COC freshman Jessie Kim capped his season with a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke event, clocking a time of 52.79. That mark represented the top finish of the weekend for the Cougars, and also bested Kim’s previous school record of 53.07, set at the Western State Conference (WSC) Finals on April 22.
COC sophomore Jennifer Yamauchi, who put her name in the COC record books earlier this season as the program’s first individual conference champion, swam to an 11th place finish in the 100-yard backstroke at a time of 1:01.43. That pace was only slightly slower than Yamauchi’s school record time of 1:01.11 set at the WSC Finals meet. Yamauchi also placed 16th in the state in the 200-yard backstroke with her mark of 2:18.19.
COC sophomore William Karren also competed at the state championship meet, placing 14th in the 100-yard butterfly at 53.42 and 17th in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:02.84.
COC Track & Field Preps for SoCal Championships
COC track & field will compete in a combined 17 events at this weekend’s CCCAA Southern California Regional Championships hosted by Cerritos College on Saturday.
Canyons put together a successful qualifying run at the SoCal Prelims, claiming 17 spots on the women’s side and seven for the men’s team. A combined 16 athletes from both teams will compete for the Cougars.
COC sophomore Jasmine Hall will have a busy day after qualifying to compete in the high jump (1.60m), long jump (5.28m), javelin (36.10m) and 100h (14.76). Hall will also run as a member of the 4x100m relay team (50.98) alongside teammates Ariana Cooper, Tayler Stiverson and Keyana Session.
Last month, Hall finished second in the Southern California Heptathlon to secure a spot at the state championship meet.
COC sophomore Weston Lomardo was the only male athlete to qualify in more than one event. He will compete in the pole vault (4.35m) and high jump (1.85m).
The CCCAA SoCal Championships will get underway at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
