See I told you that my Air Force Ones with orange shoelaces will make all the difference in the world (click on this to read "I should stop going" if you have no idea what I'm talking about).

Tony Lee is now 7-15 overall and on a three-game winning streak with his magic shoes.

And yes, since this was a dual meet, I'm giving myself two wins.

I'm not sure what game, meet or match my shoes and I will go to next. Stay tuned to see more updates.

EDIT
I forgot about the golf match I covered on Wednesday for my overall record. But I didn't have my shoes for that match so I'm still on a three-game winning streak. Yay.

Tony Lee is 7-16 overall and the shoes are still 3-0.

[Photo by Tony Lee]

First, I want to congratulate the Orange Coast College men's and women's track and field team for today's victory. I had a blast covering the home meet and look forward to covering another meet in the near future.

I want to give a shout out to the Coast Report's staff writer Farren Benjamin who competed in the women's long jump, triple jump, javelin and hammer throw. She had three personal bests today. Congratulations.

Hey, it's my blog. I can talk about one of our writers if I want to.

I also want to give a shout out to Caleb Monticalvo and Lisa Dolan for finding time to get interviewed by me. Click here to see their pictures and the interview.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to the OCC trainers for covering men's and women's swim meet, softball and tennis in addition to the track meet. You guys work hard and deserve a lot of credit.

I want to thank OCC's Sports Information Director Tony Altobelli for hanging out with me today while I was updating my blog. Incase you didn't know, Tony was the announcer for the event and, if I say so myself, did a fantastic job.

I also want to thank OCC's head track and field coach John Knox for providing me with all the stats and a place to set up my laptop.

And thank you to everyone that said, "Hi" or, "Good job" today.

Caleb Monticalvo



How high did you pole vault today?
14 feet, 6 inches, a personal record.

What was your PR before?
14 feet, 3 inches.

How long have you been pole vaulting?
It’s my fourth year.

Is this your favorite event?
Yeah, it’s my only event. They have me doing other ones to build my pole vault strength.

Do you have a pregame ritual?
No, but I pray before I vault. I try not to do whole bunch of rituals and stuff like that or a routine. I like to mix it up.

What’s your favorite type of music and artist?
Hip hop and Andre 3000.

What's next for the OCC track and field team?
I’m just ready for the Riverside Community College meet on April 3 at home. I want a lot of people to come out and give us support. RCC is ranked No. 1 in the state right now. We’re all getting pumped for that.


Lisa Dolan



What events did you compete in today and how did you do?
Pole vault and hammer throw. I won the pole vault (10 feet, 6 inches) and didn’t place in the hammer throw (Dolan got sixth throwing the hammer at 25.08 meters).

What's your favorite event?
Pole vault—this is my fifth year doing it. I did this all throughout high school.

Any comments on the big match against RCC on April 3?
I don’t really know RCC’s status on pole vault. I think they have one girl that got 11 feet but I’m not worried.

What’s your favorite type of music?
I have to say R&B and hip hop.

Name some of your favorite artists.
I like Omarion, J Holiday, Lloyd and the occasional Wheezy.

Besides track and field, what’s your favorite hobby?
I just love working out and anything beach related like surfing and tanning.

Thank you for the interviews Caleb and Lisa. Good luck in the rest of the season.

[Photos by Tony Lee]

After the last event






Nice team photo




Normal and funny pose photos













[Photos by Tony Lee]

Orange Coast College's men's and women's track and field team won its dual meet today against Fullerton College and Santiago Canyon College at home.

Men
OCC vs. Fullerton College: 113 - 41
OCC vs. Santiago Canyon College: 149 - 5

Women
OCC vs. Fullerton: 106 - 48
OCC vs. SCC: 148 - 6

Here is a list of the lady Pirates that finished first in today's meet. OCC's Andrea Guerra, Brianna Vanderwal and Danielle Morton finished first in multiple events today. Congratulations.

800 meter run: Kimone Hewitt - 2:28.26
1500 meter run: Andrea Guerra - 5:01.00
3000 meter run: Andrea Guerra - 10:58.12
400 meter hurdles: Brianna Vanderwal - 1:06.52
High jump: Brianna Vanderwal - 152 meters
Pole vault: Lisa Dolan - 10 feet, 6 inches
Long jump: Brianna Vanderwal - 4.97 meters
Triple jump: Danielle Morton - 9.46 meters
Shot put: Riki delaPuente - 10.69 meters
Discus throw: Caitlin Schott - 34.68 meters
Javelin throw: Danielle Morton - 32.44 meters

Here is a list of the Pirates that finished first in today's meet. OCC's Luis Gallardo III, Alex Whiston, Rory Rodriguez and Eric Grunbaum finished first in multiple events today. Congratulations.

400 meter dash: Trevor Carroll - 49.97 seconds
800 meter run: Luis Gallardo III - 1:59.04
3000 meter run: Russell Westphal - 9:14.55
110 meter hurdles: Donovan Toban - 16.03 seconds
400 meter hurdles: Justin Rovin - 54.71 seconds
4x100 meter relay: Alex Whiston, Elijah Landry-Zapien, Rory Rodriguez and Gerzain Pineda - 42.64 seconds
4x400 meter relay: Rory Rodriguez, Trevor Carroll, Luis Gallardo III and Alex Whiston - 3:31.09
Pole vault: Caleb Monticalvo - 14 feet, 6 inches
Shot put: Eric Grunbaum - 14.48 meters
Discus throw: Eric Grunbaum - 44.24 meters
Hammer throw: Eric Grunbaum - 42.76 meters
Javelin throw: Stephan Ruby - 52.66 meters

Event 16 – men’s 200 meter dash

Fullerton Conroy Black 22.03 seconds
OCC Elijah Landry-Zapien 22.61 seconds
Fullerton Brandon Baker 23.02 seconds

Event 26 – men’s high jump

Fullerton Kenneth McGee 1.87 meters
OCC Donovan Toban 1.82 meters
Fullerton Michael Simms 1.72 meters

Event 28 – men’s discus throw

OCC Eric Grunbaum 44.24 meters
OCC Stephan Ruby Stephan 43.55 meters
Fullerton Roger Carrillo 39.49 meters

Event 24 – men’s shot put

OCC Eric Grunbaum 14.48 meters
OCC Luis Gallardo 13.04 meters
OCC Chase Obenauer 12.69 meters

Event 33 – women’s discus throw

OCC Caitlin Schott 34.68 meters
Fullerton Malia Kaihewalu-Evans 32.32 meters
Fullerton Veronica Gonzalez 28.27 meters

Event 35 – women’s triple jump

OCC Danielle Morton 9.46 meters
OCC Melissa Mahi 9.28 meters
OCC Lidia Rivas 8.94 meters

Yours truly will be taking a scoring break to do some interviews. Check back in 30 minutes for more updates.

Event 11 – women’s 800 meter run

OCC Kimone Hewitt 2:28.26
OCC Teri Mitchell 2:29.10
OCC Margaret McDuffee 2;33.49

Event 13 – women’s 400 meter hurdles

OCC Brianna Vanderwal 1:06.52
OCC Kathryn Karkut 1:08.00
Fullerton Jacqueline Di Marzio 1:08.54

Event 14 – men’s 400 meter hurdles

OCC Justin Rovin 54.71 seconds
OCC Trevor Carroll 58.50 seconds
Fullerton Carlos Cornejo 59.20 seconds

Event 26 – men’s high jump

Fullerton Kenneth McGee 1.87 meters
OCC Donovan Toban 1.82 meters
Fullerton Michael Simms 1.72 meters

Event 28 – men’s discus throw

OCC Eric Grunbaum 44.24 meters
OCC Stephan Ruby Stephan 43.55 meters
Fullerton Roger Carrillo 39.49 meters

I'm at the scoring tent with Orange Coast College's Sports Information Director Tony Altobelli and having a blast.

And we have a question for the track and field male athletes: why do runners and sprinters have shaggy hair? Don't you want to be as aerodynamic as possible?

Weird.

[Photo by Tony Lee]

Event 5 – women’s 110 meter hurdles

Fullerton Ashley Jsames 15.22 seconds
OCC Brianna Vanderwal 16.60 seconds
OCC Jacqueline Di Marzio 16.87 seconds

Event 6 – men’s 110 meter hurdles

OCC Donovan Toban 16.03 seconds
OCC Justin Rovin 16.42 seconds
OCC David Butler 17.72 seconds

Event 7 – women’s 400 meter dash

Fullerton Maritza Williams 59.36 seconds
OCC Kimone Hewitt 1:00.16
OCC Teri Mitchell 1:01.68

Event 8 – men’s 400 meter dash

OCC Trevor Carroll 49.97 seconds
OCC Alex Whiston 50.20 seconds
Fullerton Brandon Baker 51.91 seconds

Event 9 – women’s 100 meter dash

Fullerton Allison Woody 12.70 seconds
OCC Liana Fuentes 13.18 seconds
Fullerton Joilyn Anderson 13.26 seconds

Event 10 – men’s 100 meter dash

Fullerton Conroy Black 10.97 seconds
OCC Elijah Landry-Zapien 11.27 seconds
OCC 11.52 Gerzain Pineda 11.52 second

Event 31 – women’s long jump

OCC Brianna Vanderwal 4.97 meters
Fullerton Joilyn Anderson 4.69 meters
SCC Sara Bartlett 4.43 meters

Orange Coast College men's and women's track and field athletes are still going strong.

Event 1 - women's 4x100 meter relay

Fullerton 49.32 seconds
OCC 51.08 seconds

Event 2 - men's 4x100 meter relay

OCC 42.64 seconds
Fullerton 42.95 seconds
SCC 44.52 seconds

Event 3 – women’s 1500 meter run

OCC Andrea Guerra 5:01.00
OCC Kristen Simek 5:03.20
OCC Margaret McDuffee 5:03.22

Event 4 - Men’s 1500 meter run

Fullerton David Cummings 4:06.04
OCC Sergio Olivarrias 4:06.21
OCC Russell Westphal 4:11.09

Event 23 – women’s shot put

OCC Riki delaPuente: 10.69 meters
OCC Caitlin Schott: 9.75 meters
Fullerton Nadia Hardin: 8.94 meters

Event 27 – women’s pole vault

OCC Lisa Dolan: 10 feet, 6 inches
OCC Audrey Crouse: 10 feet
OCC Jessica Clees: 9 feet, 6 inches

Go Coast!

Orange Coast College's track and field team is off to a good start.

Men
OCC vs. Fullerton College: 16-2
OCC vs. Santiago Canyon College: 17-1

Women
OCC vs. Fullerton: 13-5
OCC vs. SCC: 17-1

In event 21, the women's hammer throw, Fullerton's Malia Kaihewalu-Evans finished first with 32.21 meters. OCC's Caitlin Schott finished second with 31.57 meters and OCC's Riki delaPuente finished third with 30.98 meters.

In event 22, the men's hammer throw, OCC's Eric Grunbaum finished first with 42.76 meters, OCC's Luis Gallardo finished second with 41.67 meters and Fullerton's Roger Carrillo finished third with 41.52 meters.

In event 29, the women's javelin throw, OCC's Danielle Morton finished first with 32.44 meters, OCC's Brianna Vanderwal finished second with 28.59 meters and SCC's Lauren Fortelny finished third with 26.67 meters.

In event 30, the men's javelin throw, OCC's Stephan Ruby finished first with his 52.66 meters, OCC's Brian Norton finished second with 49.15 meters and Fullerton College's Brent Evans finished third with 46.50 meters.

So far, my shoes prove to be good luck [http://occsports.blogspot.com/2009/03/breaking-curse-update-1.html].

Go Coast!

Orange Coast College's track and field meet against Orange Empire Conference rivals Fullerton College and Santiago Canyon College at home is in progress.

Yours truly will be reporting all the events live under this tent near the finish line.

A note: I'm wearing a white dress shirt and jeans and I'm freezing out here. If you want to watch the meet at OCC, come prepared for a chilly day.

Results of the men's and women's javelin throw and other events will be up shortly.

[Photo by Tony Lee]

So the Orange Coast College men's tennis team won one but the women's tennis team lost one.

My updated record should be 5-16 but since the lady Pirates played with only five players, I'm going to ignore that loss.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click on http://www.coastreportonline.com/articles/2009/03/19/sports/sports0175.txt

Tony Lee is now 5-15 and 1-0 with his orange-laced Air Force Ones.

Friday, yours truly and the shoes, will be at Orange Coast College's track covering the Orange Empire Conference home meet against Fullerton College and Santiago Canyon College.

I'm telling you these shoes and laces will turn around my losing streak.



[Photo by Tony Lee]

I talked to Orange Coast College's women’s head coach Janice Maran and men’s head coach Chris Ketcham today and they both talked about the players’ health and stamina.

The lady Pirates played without the team’s No. 1 player Brittany Bass and No. 3 player Kalin Eshelman (this week's Pirate of the Week) Thursday due to injuries. Maran tentatively said both players may return next week.

Maran added this match was important for the lady Pirates because it showed the women that every point, game and match is crucial and important.

Ketcham said he was glad the men’s matches ended early because he wanted his players fresh for Friday’s home match against Mt. San Jacinto College.

He also seemed to worry about the injury-bug on the women’s team carrying over to his squad.

All the teams at OCC are in the middle of its season. I hope, knock-on-wood, all the teams will stay healthy for the rest of the year.

The Orange Coast College men's and women's tennis team will play a non-conference match against visiting Glendale Community College of Arizona today at home.

Glendale's head men's and women's tennis coach Chris Tolson said this is his first time at Coast and, "It's been a pretty good experience so far."

"We went ahead and scheduled a few matches here in California over our spring break," Tolson said. "We're just trying to (play in) better weather and trying to get as much tennis in a possible."

Glendale is also schedule to play against Orange Empire Conference rivals Cypress College, Glendale Community College, Whittier College and Occidental College in its trip to Southern California.

So far, the lady Pirates are down 1-2 in doubles.

OCC's Melissa Boyer and Hannah Mancino lost 9-7 to Glendale's Anela Pehlic and Katie Lively. OCC's Heather Wong and Nicole Naughton won 8-5 against Glendale's Ashley Kildoo and Julie Kerr. The third match was not played because OCC only has five active players today.

The Pirates, however, won all three of its doubles matches against Glendale.

OCC's Laurent Minguez and Felix Demiro beat Glendale's Stephen Elliot and George Laura 8-0. OCC's Brad Fisher and Yannick Lepage won 8-1 against Justin Rygil and Matt Fesko. OCC's Kevin Saenz and Marc Cesar beat Miguel Zepeda and Joe Garcia 8-1 also.

The Pirate men are looking strong but let's see if the shorthanded lady Pirates can come through with a victory.

In my sports column in this week's Coast Report, I talked about the superstitious nature of athletes. Click on the link below to read about it.

http://www.coastreportonline.com/articles/2009/03/19/sports/sports0175.txt

Well here's what I'm going to try - I laced up my baby blue Air Force Ones with bright orange shoe laces.

Yours truly will cover the Orange Coast College men's and women's tennis match today with these shoes on. Let's see if my record improves.

[Photo by Tony Lee]

In an effort to make the OCC Sports Blog one of the best out of all the community colleges, I have made significant changes on the layout.

But since the blog's makeover is so dramatic, I believe I need to explain all the new features.

The biggest change in the blog is the streaming news feed.

The latest news, the most prominent articles or something I believe should be highlighted will be featured here (pictured above) and a new story will stream across every nine seconds. You may press "Pause" to stop it from changing to another news feed and/or click on the article's headline to go to that specific story.

Also, right above the streaming news feed, there is the OCC Sports Blog's menu.

In the menu, there are five choices. When you drag your mouse cursor over to the menu, a drop down mini-menu will appear. You may click on them to redirect you to that link.

The first is the OCC Sports Blog Tour. You may have stumbled upon this post because you clicked on this choice. This tour is a page to answer any questions one may have about the blog's functions.

The second choice is the Blog's Standing Features. A standing feature in a newspaper is something that is printed in every issue.

For this blog, I decided to keep Breaking the Curse (a continuing story about my superstitious sports nature), PirateTXT (when athletes and I text message each other), Q & A (interviews with players and coaches) and my column "It's Me, Tony Lee" easily searchable for everyone.

The thrid choice is the counterparts to the blog. In addition to this web page, the blog often uses Twitter, YouTube and Picasa to highlight Coast athletics program and everyone involved in it. If you click on one of these links, a new window or tab will appear.

Twitter updates (pictured left) are also available on the blog and is located below the scrolling news feeds. However, there are still some bugs on this feature and sometimes the Twitter Updates will be blank. If that's the case, then please just reload or refresh the page.

The other two choices will also redirect you to a different website in a new window. These are the links OCC Sports Blog supports and highly recommend.

Finally, I moved the column to the right side and added an about me page and a search bar.

The search bar will search for anything inside the OCC Sports Blog.

The about me is a mini biography about me and why I am qualified for this job. Click on the picture to read a more detailed profile.

The old features such as the counter, blog archive and labels are still available.

Once again, there are still many bugs in the layout and I'll get them fixed before the 2009 fall semester begins at the end of August.

Hope you like the changes.