Jim McCarron is just as excited to go to work every day as the day he was hired at Riverside City College in 2006.
The head coach of the men’s track and field team at RCC, McCarron recently led the Tigers to a historic eighth California Community College Athletic Association overall team championship last weekend at San Mateo College.
“I love my job and I love it just as much as when I started,” McCarron said. “I have that same passion and drive, and we’ve had so much change here – 14 athletic directors and 12 presidents in 20 years – that we just put our heads down and work.”
This year’s 3C2A title – the team’s first since 2019 – snapped Mt. San Antonio’s three-year winning streak.
“Mt. SAC put together a three-peat, so to stop that momentum felt really good, and we’ve done two three-peats,” said McCarron, who previously won three consecutive state titles from 2008-10 and 2012-14.
“We’ve had a lot of recruits the last few years tell us they want to train in Mt. SAC’s $75 million dollar stadium, but some of that’s starting to wear off and we’re back doing it,” McCarron said.
RCC has won the state title the last four times the meet was held at San Mateo College (2009, ’13, ’19 and ’25).
“That place has been good to us,” McCarron said. “It means a lot (and) hopefully this isn’t my last.”
Sophomores Bryson Williamson and Isaiah Butler captured individual state titles this year as RCC finished with 98 points to defeat San Diego Mesa (93) and Mt. SAC (88.5).
“Our jumpers and our throwers performed exceptionally well, and we had a very well-rounded team,” McCarron said.
Williamson, a 6-foot-7 jumper from Vista Murrieta High, was the only athlete to clear 2.05 meters in the high jump and had the title after just four attempts.
Butler, a Riverside King High grad, had the winning mark in the discus in after winning with a toss of 52.94 meters.
“This is a group that scored 119 points last year at the state meet and got second, so they had a chip on their shoulder and they wanted to win it this year,” McCarron said.
RCC throws coach Nick Robinson received special recognition from McCarron for his role in creating one of the nation’s top environments for junior college throwers.
“(Robinson) always does such a great job with our throwers,” McCarron said. “He’s been a big part of the staff for nearly a decade and has coached a bunch of state champions now.”
Construction on a facility designed exclusively for throwers is underway at the Riverside City campus.
“It’s been a work-in-progress since 2013, but I rolled into school the other day and they’ve started it,” McCarron said.
Sophomore Justice Brown was second in shot put (16.09) and took third in discus (46.09) to lead a contingent of throwers for RCC.
Freshman Joseph Garcia was fourth in discus (45.72), and freshman Omar Sanchez was fifth in discus (45.59) and sixth in hammer throw (44.38).
Sophomore Marcellus Linton grabbed third in the 200 (21.57), and fourth in the 100 (10.55). The Tigers 1,600 relay team (Orlando Collins, Jared Schulte, Daniel Adbelusi and Linton) capped the meet with a second-place finish.
MENDIOLA CHASES DOWN STATE TITLE FOR SBVC
Sophomore Jacob Mendiola won the first men’s track and field individual state title in 10 years for San Bernardino Valley College when he captured the title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last weekend.
Mendiola, a Cajon High alum, ran 9 minutes, 32.54 seconds to secure SBVC’s first 3C2A men’s title since Michael Teran won the 5,000-meter run state title in 2015.
Savannah Perez won a women’s state title for SBVC in the 800 in 2017.
The Wolverines sent their largest group in more than a decade to the state finals, with eight runners (four individuals and one women’s relay team) advancing this year.
CBU BASEBALL SWIPES POSTSEASON AWARDS
California Baptist senior Nick Dumesnil was selected the player of the year, and first-year shortstop Chris Ramirez doubled up as the defensive player of the year and freshman of the year as the Western Athletic Conference announced its regular season awards on Monday, May 19.
Dumesnil, the preseason WAC player of the year, hit .350 with 10 home runs, 20 doubles, 52 runs, a team-high 57 RBIs and a school-record 27 stolen bases this season.
Ramirez posted a team-high .360 batting average with 44 runs, 30 RBIs, and a .435 on-base percentage while playing every game and helping the Lancers lead the WAC in putouts this season.
The Lancers (30-26 overall) finished fifth in the WAC and lost 6-5 in 11 innings to Utah Tech in the play-in game at the WAC tournament on Tuesday, May 20.
BRONCOS ALUM SETS KBO STRIKEOUT MARK
Cody Ponce, who pitched for Cal Poly Pomona from 2013-15 and helped the Broncos to the NCAA Division II World Series in 2015, has set a new single-game strikeout record in Korean professional baseball.
Ponce, the current ace of the pitching staff for Hanwa Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization, struck out 18 in a 1-0 victory over SSG Landers on Saturday, May 17. Ponce allowed just two hits and walked one in eight innings.
Ponce, a Damien High graduate, is 8-0 in 10 starts this season and leads the KBO in ERA (1.48), WHIP (0.85), strikeouts (93) and innings pitched (67).
ODDS & ENDS
Italian international Rene D’Amelio has committed to the CBU men’s basketball team. D’Amelio, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward, has a 7-foot wingspan. … Cal Poly Pomona senior catcher Johnny Pappas (Ayala High) was selected to both NCBWA and D2CCA All-West region first teams. Pappas hit .344 with 16 doubles, 23 RBIs and 43 runs, and is the Broncos’ all-time runs leader (176). … Sophomore Alex Henderson homered twice as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team defeated Wisconsin-La Crosse in a doubleheader, 11-2 and 6-2, to win its first NCAA Division III regional on Sunday, May 18. CMS (35-12 overall) plays Endicott in a Super Regional this weekend. … Two-time 3C2A women’s basketball player of the year Britney Thomas leads the latest Mt. San Jacinto College athletics hall of fame class, set for induction on Oct. 10. … Chaffey College sophomore outfielder Ryan Melton has committed to Chico State. Melton (Los Osos High) hit .382 and led the team with a .523 on-base percentage.
