Results
The annual relay event hosted by Mt. SAC on April 11 turned out to be another successful event with SAC performing extremely well across all events.
SAC athletes placed in the the top 5 in 85% of events with 33% of total events resulting in a first place finish. The closest competition was Riverside City College, placing first in 26% of the events.
One of SAC’s own athletes, placed first in javelin at relays but placed third at the 3C2A State Championship in 2025.
Athletes
Sophomore javelin thrower and pole vaulter Taiyo Ishiguro talked about his performance after his dominant win in the men’s javelin event.
“I wanted to throw 65, but I was too tight, so I couldn’t throw 65,” Ishiguro said. “But today, it was a great average [and] I got a PR, so I’m happy.”
Ishiguro, who is from Japan, traveled to the United States for his education and to make a name for himself in track and field. Isiguro threw 62.74 meters which is above average with a 9.63 meter difference between Isiguro and second place Gavin Wang from Long Beach City College.
Sophomore pole vaulter Emma Samvelina managed to get a personal record in both pole vaulting and her secondary event, the hammer throw.
“I feel amazing. I had an outdoor personal best of 3.80 meters, and that’s been over a year coming, so I’m super thrilled with that,” Samvelian said.
Samvelian got second in pole vaulting, jumping 3.80 meter with her teammate Miku Yanagawa with a height of 3.95 meters.
Samvelian also competed in hammerthrow and managed to get a personal best of 48.23 meters as well.
Sophomore thrower Olivia Powers who got first in javelin talked about her improvement over the season.
“I feel really good about my performance,” Powers said. “There was a lot of training behind it, and I’m just really happy it came into play today.”
Powers threw 39.78 meters edging out Sarahi Zarate from Fresno City College who threw for 38.90 meters.
Sophomore Sophia Ebiner and freshman Jocelyn Izarraraz – Rodriguez both competed in the women’s 5000, with Izarraraz-Rodriguez placing first with a time of 17:59.08 and Ebiner just .18 seconds away from her with a time of 17:59:62.
“The mindset of just like we’re going to go out there and attack it today. We have been practicing this so today was more of just making sure I didn’t lose sight of Sophia,” Izarraraz-Rodriguez said.
Ebiner explains how proud she is of their hard work and to be part of Mt. SAC.
“We practice together everyday. Our workouts are just like races, we stick together. It just makes it so much easier and so much more enjoyable and it’s a pleasure to be out here with my teammates,” Ebiner said. “It’s an honor to rep Mt. SAC on our chest every race and it’s great being here. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Sophomore Marques Guzman, placed first in the men’s 200 m with a PR of 20.95 seconds. Guzman came into this relay after placing second place last year.
“I feel great. I had a little salt in my mouth from last year, coming to Mt. SAC relays, got second place, and in the 100m got sixth place, so I came back with some revenge in my mouth and got the job done,” Guzman said. “It feels good. No. 1 for a reason.”
Guzman has his sights set on beating his own PR and winning the next event he attends.
Coaches Perspective
Head track and field coach Giovanni Larano spoke about SAC’s performance and the work that went into performing well at Mt. SAC Relays
“We had some good performances, I would say, across the board,” Larano said. “In javelin, one of our athletes just threw a big PR in the javelin so it’s huge [and] I think being at home helps as well.”
Lanaro direction of the team helped bring excitement and passion to compete at home. From beating their own records and winning events, SAC runners expressed over the course of the day just how special it was to compete at home.
“I think it’s just the Mounties getting to come out here and compete in front of their home crowd.” Giovanni Lanaro said.
Mt. SAC will be hosting the second portion of relays taking place on April 15-18. While the second weekend mostly features collegiate and elite division athletes, with a mix of top professionals and Olympians. Mt. SAC’s state-of-the-art facilities are home to world-class competitions.
The following corrections to the story were made April 19, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. PT. The spelling of the names Giovanni Lanaro, Emma Samvelian were corrected. The order of names was switched on a photo caption for clarity. A minor AP style edit was made within a quote from Marquez Guzman.
