Daniel Smith, dean of athletics, had high expectations for Cerritos College athletics and he feels the fall semester has lived up to such expectations while standing firm on his belief that the athletic success will carry over into spring.
“We want to be the best athletic program in the state, that’s our goal,” Smith said. “And we certainly had an outstanding fall. To do as well as we did in every fall sport, we’ve had some excellent finishes.
“We have women’s soccer winning the state championship, men’s water polo progressing into the playoffs (and) men’s soccer finishing fifth in the state. The fact that we’ve been making the playoffs for so many different sports is remarkable.”
The season also witnessed grandeur events such as the MMA fundraiser that occurred in September in the gym and the Paralympics event in November at the football stadium.
“Now that our facilities are top-notch, we can do more of that,” Smith said. “Now it’s more about which events we pick and which we decide not to sponsor.”
It is more likely the events will be occuring more in the future, with another MMA event possibly coming as soon as spring.
“We talked about having one in the spring,” head coach Don Garriott said. “The event was a success, so we’re definitely considering it.”
Spring is just around the corner and sports such as baseball and tennis will be seeking their own success.
“Spring holds the same expectations as fall,” Smith said. “Women’s track is also defending (its) state championship and the goal will be to defend that championship the same way women’s soccer did.”
Christopher Richardson, director of cross country and track and field, said, “I don’t think there’s ever been a more talented track and field team at Cerritos College, physically, in terms of performances. We have extremely talented people in every event.”
Smith noted the credit goes to the student athletes for solidifying Cerritos College as a top tier school for athletics.
Now it’s time for spring sports to show what they’re capable of.
“All our teams have potential, we just have to wait until they materialize and live up to that potential.”
Men’s soccer
Record: 13-6-5
The men’s soccer team managed to reach the third round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs before being eliminated by Mount San Antonio College in a 2-1 overtime loss on Nov. 30 to end the season.
Football
Record: 7-4
Falling short of the playoffs, the football team still managed to find positives toward the end of the season as it notched a 64-33 win over Grossmont College in the Western State Bowl game on Nov. 23 to end the season.
Volleyball
Record: 9-13
The volleyball team ended its season against Los Angeles Harbor College on Nov. 20 with a 3-0 win.
The team was expecting a playoff run, but failed to do so.
“I feel sad, but it was a great season,” Ashley Castro said.
Cross-country
CCCAA ranking: Men: 4th place
Women: 5th place
Christopher Richardson, cross country director, thought the men and women’s teams had “one of the best program finishes that Cerritos College has ever had” at Fresno on Nov. 23 as the season closed.
Men’s water polo
Record: 16-14
Reaching the playoffs, the men’s water polo team’s run ended at the Southern California Regional Tournament during the second round as it was eliminated by Golden West College at home 13-9 to cap off the season.
Women’s water polo
Record: 14-17
Women’s water polo ended the season at the SCC Tournament in a 12-5 loss against Chaffey College on Nov. 9.
CerritosFalcons.com claims, “Catie Tuning finished the season with 94 goals, third most in school history.”
