Comets' Buchanan, Mesa's Denman honored by PCC

MAY 18, 2009 - Baseball player Terrence Buchanan (Palomar) and Mesa track athlete Mike Denman are the last 2008-09 Pacific Coast Conference Men's Athletes of the Week.

Buchanan, a freshman second baseman from Mt. Carmel High and a mid-year transfer from defending College World Series champion Fresno State, batted .462 (6-for-13) in the Palomar Super Regional and .450 (9-for-20) in the post-season.

On the weekend, Buchanan went 1-for-4 in a 5-0 win over Mt. SAC, 2-for-3 with a stolen base vs. Santa Ana, 2-for-3 with an RBI and three steals in a 7-3 victory over Long Beach City College and 1-for-3 against Santa Ana again.

Denman, a sophomore from Otay Ranch High School, won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the CCCAA State Track & Field finals in San Mateo at 9:33.70.

Honorable mention went to Southwestern's Curtis Mitchell and Palomar's Bobby Shore.

Texas A&M signee Mitchell, a sophomore from Atlantic High (Port Orange, FL), repeated as state 100-meter (10.31) and 200-meter (20.58) champion. Both times were best in the nation for community colleges and his 200 mark is third-fastest of any college sprinter in 2009, including NCAA Division I.

Shore, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Oceanside High School who has signed with the University of Oklahoma, threw a five-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none, vs. Mt. SAC.

PCC 2008-2009 MEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Mesa's Espindola final PCC Athlete of Week of 2008-09

MAY 18, 2009 - The Pacific Coast Conference has selected San Diego Mesa College track & field athlete Samantha Espindola as its final Women's Athlete of the Week for the 2008-09 academic year.

Espindola, a sophomore from West Hills High School, ran a 39:27.35 to place fourth in the 10,000 meters at the CCCAA State Track & Field Championships at College of San Mateo Stadium in San Mateo, a facility which overlooks San Francisco Bay.

Honorable mention for the week went to track & field performers Karla Atencio from Southwestern, Yasmina Taketa from Mesa and Monicah Jepkemboi from Southwestern.

Atencio, a sophomore from Hilltop High School, placed fifth in the 10,000 in the state finals, running a 2:12.23 for the Jaguars

The Olympians' Taketa, a freshman from the Ponahou School in Honolulu, HI, finished fifth in the long jump in the state meet with a distance of 17 feet, 9.75inches.

The Jaguars' Jepkemboi, a freshman from Kenya, ran a 1:19.53 in the 800 meters at the state championships as she placed eighth in the field.

An individual is eligible to be recognized as Pacific Coast Conference Athlete of the Week only once in her sport's season of competition.

PCC 2008-2009 WOMEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK