Newport Harbor's Cochran brings home two titles

CLOVIS – Even on a day when he wasn't at his statistical best, the dominant season of Newport Harbor senior Ethan Cochran ended with him proving to being the state's undisputed king of the rings.

Cochran won state titles in the discus and the shot put at the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Buchanan High in Clovis.

He is the first county discus thrower to win back-to-back state titles since former Huntington Beach standout Scott Moser accomplished the feat in 1996 and 1997. He closed out the CIF season fourth on the county's all-time list in the discus and 11th in the shot put.

"It's been an amazing journey for me," Cochran said. "Coming into high school, I never thought I would do track and field."

It was a slow start for Cochran in the discus. He was third after his first three throws, but on his fifth attempt, he reached back and uncorked a high arching attempt that sailed 196 feet, 4 inches for the victory.

Later in the shot put, Cochran let loose a throw of 62-41/4 on his third attempt to win that competition.

"After winning the discus, I was mentally tired after fighting through a couple of bad throws," Cochran said.

"When I got to the shot put, I prayed to God to help give me all that I had and it worked out for me."

Two other county throwers ended their seasons on the podium.

Sailors senior Steve Michaelsen finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 182-10, while Servite senior Connor Einck finished fourth in the shot put with a mark of 60-11.

Canyon senior Cody Crampton narrowly missed a lifetime-best clearance of 7-0 in the high jump final. He tied for the top clearance at 6-101/4 and finished second based on jumps.

"I felt good through the weekend, but it just didn't quite come together on the attempts at 7 feet," said Crampton. "I've had an amazing four years at Canyon."

In the 800, Woodbridge senior Dragan Simic stayed with the leaders throughout both laps, crossing the finish line in fourth place with a time of 1:52.76.

"Going into the race I was nervous," Simic said. "In the last 100, I was kicking it in hard and the result was pretty solid."

San Clemente senior Herbert Gamboa closed his season finishing sixth in the 100 in a time of 10.73. He finishes the season with the third fastest wind-legal time in county history.

“I wanted to get out in the first 50 meters because that’s my strong part of the race,” Gamboa said. “This was a great season for me that I will remember for a long time.” 

El Toro junior Juan Gonzalez closed out a strong campaign by placing eighth in the 1,600 in a time of 4:16.29, while Chargers senior Kevin Durham finished 10th in the 3,200 in a time of 9:13.01.

Mater Dei senior Corey Hammond (38.16) was eighth in the 300 hurdles final.

Behind Cochran and Michaelsen, Newport Harbor tied for third place in the team title race with 25 points.