Saturday, the men’s and women’s track and field teams will travel to the Cerritos Invitational, where the Warriors will compete against many rivals including those in their conference.

EC’s next invite will be the USC Trojan Invitational Saturday March 1.

A solid performances at Santa Ana gave both teams a sense of confidence to open the season and it also gave them an idea of where they are in terms of progress.

“We had some good marks,” coach Dean Lofgren said, “To be starting off as well as we did is a good sign. It gives us a good idea of where we are.”

Freshman Jacob Wientraub was one of the athletes who stood out in the in SCC event. In shot put, he had a throw of 51 feet, 7 1/2 inches.

“That mark put him seventh on the EC all-time top 10 list,” Lofgren said.

Freshman Brent Marcelis out of El Segundo won first place in the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 10.80 seconds. Marcelis also competed in, and won second place in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 22.22 seconds. Marcelis’ time of 10.80 in the 100-meter dash has him currently leading the men’s bracket in the Southern California region.

“For the men, we are very well-rounded in every event. It’s a good men’s team.”

In the men’s pole vault, EC took first and second place with help from sophomore Chad Stevens of San Pedro, who had a jump of 12 feet one-half inches.

In the men’s 1,500-meter run, freshman Alex Gorney, out of South High and returning from the cross country team, won it with a time of 4 minutes, 13.46 seconds.

Steve Calise is currently leading the Southern California region in the men’s 800-meter dash.

“Not only do we have quality but we also have depth in most events,” Lofgren said. ” We’re deep in virtually every event.’

The women’s team had an impressive season opening win against Santa Ana, 81-20.

Sophomore Gabi Rubi contributed to the win by winning both the 1500-meter run and the 800-meter dash.

In her first competition, freshman out of Carson, Nai Leni, came out with a 41 feet, 8 _ inches in the shot put.

“Not only is she a So Cal leader, but she is seventh all- time in EC,” Lofgren said.

In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, sophomore Jennifer Shoate from Locke High currently leads the Southern California region with a time of 16.18 seconds.

“She is one of our top returnees,” Lofgren said.

The dominant win by the women’s team has Lofgren happy with the way the youth and experience has come together for the team.

“We’ve got a talented group of freshman that will contribute well as the season progresses.” Lofgren said. “Every event is virtually guaranteed to be competitive.”

Lofgren’s confidence in the team exceeds expectations of doing well against just the community college teams.

“We can hold our own with the four-years,” Lofgren said. ” We’ve got some people who could compete at the four-year level.”

Despite being early in the season, Lofgren is optimistic about the way the team has looked so far and is confident about how both teams will do as the season progresses.

“We like to think they will progress from here,” Lofgren said. ” To be starting out as well as we did is a good sign.”

The team will have a chance to show it can compete with the university athletes when the March 1 relay event at USC takes place.