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Published: May 28, 2015 | Posted: May 29, 2015 | Voted on by Viewpoints sports staff
Riverside City College womens tennis coach Nikki Bonzoumet has ben coaching the Tigers for 17 years. Before her time at RCC, Bonzoumet worked at a country club and was an assistant coach at California State University San Bernardino. Bonzoumet led the Tigers all season to finish off with an outstanding record of 17-3 and first place in conference. On top of her hard work with the women, Bonzoumet had to take on the task of serving as the interim mens head coach while Jim Elton was out with a head injury. Bonzoumet is constantly recruiting for next season.
Riverside City College’s track and field coach Jim McCarron has been leading the mens team since 2006. Since then, McCarron coached the mens team to a third place finish at the 2015 CCCAA State Championships on May 15 and 16, where the men scored 65 points. Under McCarron, the mens track and field team also won its ninth consecutive Orange Empire Conference Championship on April 24 at Golden West College, where the men scored 380 and the women 313.5. The team has also won the state championship in six of the last seven years.
Sophomore Jelani Mitchell started playing basketball for Riverside City College in 2013. This season, Mitchell has achieved an average of 11.7 points per game and has been named to the All-Orange Empire Conference team. Mitchell will be transferring to California State University East Bay in the Fall.
Chad Hambright concluded his sophomore season with a second place finish, shooting 3-under a par of 144 after two rounds at the CCCAA State Golf Championships. Hambright shot a tournament-low of 64 in the second round of the event. He also won the Orange Empire Conference individual championship after shooting 2-under a par of 70 in the OEC Championship Finals.
Mathieu was a revelation this season for the Riverside City College team. Arriving from Belgium to RCC as a first time freshman, Willockx established himself as a perennial top 2 player. He capped off a stellar first season by being the only male on the team to advance to the round of 32 at the Ojai Valley Tournament.
Sophomore Austin Sodders was a key component to RCC’s baseball team. Sodders went 7-1, he had a 2.03 earned run average and a remarkable 58 strikeouts. On April 7 he had 10 strikeouts against Saddleback College. Sodders also had two complete games this season and two eight-shutout innings.
Freshman Quinton Bell had an outstanding season for the Riverside City College Track and Field team. He placed first in the 200-meter run at the Ben Brown Invitational on March 13 and 14, running it in a season personal best of 21.14 seconds. He also finished first in the 100-meter run at the UCI Spring Invitational on March 20 and 21.
Kayla Wilson finished second in the 200 meter dash at the CCCAA State Track and Field Championships for Riverside City College with a time of 24.59 seconds. Wilson also took third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11:78 to conclude her freshman year. Her efforts in other events at the state meet contributed to the RCC women’s track and field team taking third place.
Freshman Jordan Emanuele had a significant season with the Riverside City College Tigers softball team. She achieved an incredible .386 batting average. Her on-base percentage was .395 and slugging percentage percentage was .417. In a game against Southwestern College, she went 3-4. She tripled in the second inning, singled to the left field in the top of the sixth then ended with a double to left field at the top of the seventh. Emanuele had 18 runs batted in and scored 24 runs in the season
Acacia Dettman was instrumental in helping the Riverside City College Tigers women’s tennis team achieve an incredible 16 match win streak as well as winning the Orange Empire Conference Championship. Consistently playing at the #1 or #2 spot in singles, Acacia showcased her talent all season, as she compiled an impressive 18-4 personal match record. She reached the round of 16 at the OJAI Valley Tournament, losing to eventual champion Mayra Jovic. She finished the season ranked No. 12 overall by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for junior colleges.
Freshmen Emily Dunkerson was a standout among her peers and the Orange Empire Conference. She won the women’s 1-meter and 3-meter diving event during the Orange Empire Conference Championships. She also won the Diver of the Year Award. “It felt great and I was shocked I won the award, because this is my first year diving and other divers have been doing it for a while,” Dunkerson said. She also won first place in the women’s 1-meter diving event during State Championships.