Our Warrior student-athletes had a very successful fall season, with a variety of team awards and individual accomplishments. In cross-country, Carson Bix won the state title in the men's CCCAA Cross-Country State Championships in Fresno. The men's team finished in second place out of 21 teams and the women's team came in 11th place out of 21 teams. Bix is the third individual cross country-state champion from El Camino College, alongside Bruce Johnson (1971) and David Cardona (2010). This is Bix's second state championship after winning the 1,500m run in the spring. Ethan Comeaux finished in 14th place for the Warriors with a time of 20:50 and earned All-State honors. Manny Gil finished in 18th place with a time of 20:53. Matt Arruda came in 21st place with a time of 20:55. Caleb Ko rounded out the top five and finished in 49th place with a time of 21:27.
In the women's competition, ECC was ranked 11th in Southern California heading into the race and finished in 11th place overall out of 21 teams. Grace Hoffman led the Warriors with a 32nd place finish and time of 19:36. Savannah Sehenuk was next for the Warriors in 49th place with a time of 19:56. Sarah Simpson was third for the Warriors in 67th place with a time of 20:21. Deana Takaoka was fourth for the Warriors in 75th place with a time of 20:32. Sabrine Elfarissi was fifth for the Warriors with a time of 22:18.
Women's volleyball capped a spectacular season by securing the league championships and will now compete in the CCCAA State Championships on Nov. 30! A victory over No. 6 seed MiraCosta College on Nov. 25 secured the Warriors' second trip to the state championships in the last three seasons and also marks the fourth time in the last five seasons the Warriors are among the final eight teams left standing in the state. In addition, sophomore Phina Leilua was named to the California Community College Women's Volleyball 2018 All-State Team and freshman Kelly Donatucci earned All-Southern California honors; the Warriors were the only team in Southern California to have to players selected. Leilua and Donatucci also joined Meris Ewell and Mikayla Clark, along with Head Coach Liz Hazell to receive South Coast Conference honors.
Warrior football ended its league championship-winning season with a 63-24 loss at Riverside College in the Southern California Football Association Regional Playoffs. The team has now posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since seven straight winning seasons from 2003-09. The team also took back the Milk Can Trophy with a victory over Cerritos College to end the regular season and won its first league title since 2008 and first outright title since 2005. In a nod to its heritage, the football program announced selections for the ECC All-Decade Teams for the 1950s and 1960s during homecoming.
In men's water polo, three ECC players were named All-South Coast Conference, along with one honorable mention. Matthew Thorne was named to the first team, Brandon Soto and Kyle Thorne were named to the second team, and Seth Ulrich was an honorable mention. Warrior water polo finished with an 11-17 overall record and a fifth-place finish at the South Coast Conference tournament under first-year head coach, Noah Rubke. Women's water polo finished the season with a 5-17 record in Corey Stanbury's final year as head coach. Sonni Garcia was named First Team All-South Coast Conference, while Kate Wurth and Andrea Sandoval were named to the second team. In men's soccer, Kevin Negrete, Oliver Diaz, and Brian Burrell were named to the All-SCC South First Team; Brian Morales, Eduardo Grados and Jean-Pierre Dejean Macksa took All-SCC South Second Team honors. The Warriors finished their inaugural season under first-year head coach Mike Jacobson with a 7-7-6 (2-3-3) record and just missed the CCCAA South playoffs.
Congratulations to all student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff, and those who contribute to the success of our Warrior athletics program.