TRK: SBCC’s Heuchert comes in fifth at State Meet

SBCC’s Alex Heuchert took fifth in the men’s 1500 on Saturday at the 64th CCCAA State Track & Field Championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Heuchert, a freshman from San Marcos High, entered the race as the 12th seed. He ran 4:01.17.

“Alex found himself in yet another slow tactical race in the post-season men’s 1500m series,” said coach Scott Fickerson. “He learned well from his previous races and improved his race strategy. He positioned himself well and when the pace increased dramatically over the final 800, he was able to close well enough to place fifth. His final 800 time of 2:01 was just 3 seconds off his best open 800 race of the season, showing he is capable of running a much faster time.”

Bas van Leersum, a freshman from the Netherlands, took seventh in the 400 hurdles in 53.80. It was just .03 off his best time, which is No. 3 on SBCC’s all-time list.

“Bas ran well out of lane 9 to move up one spot on his No. 8 seeding,” said Fickerson. “That was his second-best time of the season and good enough to place seventh in the state as a freshman.

“Our guys really rose to the occasion and performed exceptionally well.”

Riverside won its third straight men’s title with 111 points. American River was second with 83 and Cerritos took third at 64.