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IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's indoor track and field team kicks off the 2017 campaign this weekend as it travels to Flagstaff, Ariz., for the Lumberjack Team Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 21.
LUMBERJACK TEAM CHALLENGE
The Lumberjack Team Challenge will be held at J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome on the campus of Northern Arizona University. The one-day meet gets underway with the pole vault at 8 a.m. (MT), while the track events are set to begin with the mile at 10:30 a.m. (MT). The 'Eaters are sending 20 athletes to compete in eight events on Saturday.
Other schools participating in the Lumberjack Team Challenge are Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Grand Canyon, Southern Utah, UC Riverside, UNLV and host Northern Arizona. The competition will feature multiple dual-meet scoring.
MEET REWIND
This is the third year in a row the Anteaters are headed to the Lumberjack Team Challenge. In 2016, Megan George paced UCI with a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles (8.63). Ariel Cheng also had a strong outing in the pole vault where she took fifth with a height of 11-07.75. In addition, Melanie Speech had a top-20 showing in the shot put as she registered the fourth-best mark in school history at 40-09.
RECORD BREAKERS
Last year, UC Irvine set five indoor school records and established 23 marks that rank among the program's all-time top-10. Leading the way was junior Persis William-Mensah, who ran UCI's fastest 60-meter dash at 7.49 seconds, and also broke an eight-year old record in the 200m (24.79). Junior Simone Buchanan had the No. 1 time in the 400m (56.52), while senior Megan George topped the list in the 60m hurdles (8.54). In addition, junior Dazhana Bauer-Jackson became the first 'Eater in program history to surpass the 50-foot mark in the weight throw with a toss of 55-10.25 at the 2016 MSPF Championships.
All five record holders will be looking to improve their marks in 2017. Senior Ariel Cheng is also on the verge of joining the group as she currently ranks third in the pole vault with a personal-best 12-00.
NEW TO THE SCENE
Eleven of the 20 Anteaters competing this weekend will be participating in their first indoor meet. UCI is traveling seven freshmen, one junior college transfer and three sophomores who were not on the indoor team last year. One of those sophomores is Barbara Coward, who owns the outdoor school record in the discus (170-11). She is entered in the weight throw on Saturday.
LOOKING AHEAD
UC Irvine has a short but tough indoor season as it will travel to three more high-powered meets with the UW Invitational (Jan. 27-28), Don Kirby Invitational (Feb. 10-11) and MPSF Championships (Feb. 24-25) on deck.
UP NEXT
The 'Eaters will get a first-look at the site of the MPSF Championships next weekend when they head to Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Wash., for the UW Invitational, Jan. 27-28.
UC Irvine Entries
60m
Hope Bushnell
Iyana Cooksey
Brandy Coward
Megan George
Imani Jones
Tyra Jones
Persis William-Mensah
400m
Cecily Montanez
Mile
Anastasia Karnaze
Keely Boyd
Brenda Dorantes
Aliya Shah
Megan Mirkhanian
Courtney Sharar
60m Hurdles
Iyana Cooksey
Megan George
Imani Jones
Tyra Jones
4x400
TBA (Bushnell, George, Montanez, William-Mensah, Coward, Jones)
Pole Vault
Ariel Cheng
Adrienne Lee
Shot Put
Melanie Speech
Weight Throw
Barbara Coward
Alison Meegan
Brianna Villanueva
