Cuesta College’s Miranda Daschian captures regional cross country title

Cuesta College freshman Miranda Daschian finished first overall out of 185 competitors Friday at the Southern California Regional Cross Country Championships held at Irvine Regional Park in Orange.

Daschian, an Atascadero High School graduate, completed the 5,000-meter course in 18 minutes, 12 seconds to become the Cougars’ highest female finisher in at least the last 10 years, according to head coach Brian Locher.

Thanks in large part to Daschian’s strong showing, Cuesta finished sixth in the team competition. Arroyo Grande alumnus Leza Cassidy placed fifth in 18:53, and Nipomo graduate Taylor Witcher finished 44th in 20:19. Briana Nunez crossed the finish line in 21:52, and Kirstyn Mills rounded out the Cougars’ finishers in 22:11.

On the men’s side, Sean McDermott placed second overall in a field of 197 runners. He completed the 4-mile course in 20:33, just six seconds behind the winner. Locher said McDermott’s second-place finish was the highest for the Cougars since 1999.

Other Cuesta finishers included: Trevor Stangle (13th, 20:55), Aramis Knox (73rd, 22:09), Cam Goldstone (97th, 22:31) and Cody Griffith (111th, 22:47). The Cougars finished eighth in the team scoring.

Daschian, Cassidy, McDermott and Stangle each earned all-region honors by finishing in the top 14 individually. Both teams qualified for the CCCAA state championships, which will be held Nov. 19 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Cuesta volleyball outlasts Ventura

Hannah Katches recorded 15 kills and the Cuesta College volleyball team defeated Ventura in a Western State Conference match Friday.

The Cougars won by set scores of 25-18, 23-25, 17-25, 25-14 and 15-12.

Anais Fay added 13 kills and Kaylie Griffin chipped in 12 for the Cougars, which improved to 11-9 overall and 2-4 against conference opponents. Griffin also had eight blocks, and Mariah Hall and Sage Kelley combined for 42 assists in the victory.

Cuesta concludes the regular season next week against Moorpark at home on Wednesday and will play at Allan Hancock next Friday.

Water polo upset at WSC tournament

The top-seeded Cuesta College men’s water polo team was upset by No. 4-seeded LA Valley, 9-8, in the semifinals of the Western State Conference championship tournament on Friday.

All-American Johnny Hartshorne and Trevor Whitsitt scored two goals apiece to lead the Cougars, who are 18-14 overall and will play in the third-place game against Ventura at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.

Chandler Mankins made nine saves for Cuesta during the setback.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Cuesta College’s Miranda Daschian captures regional cross country title."