LONG BEACH, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's track & field team earned five event wins Friday at the Big West Challenge in Long Beach.
Senior Megan George notched her third 100m hurdle victory of the 2017 campaign with a season-best 13.37. She broke a seven-year old meet record and was just .09 seconds shy of her own school record. Junior Tyra Jones added a third-place showing with a lifetime-best 13.72, a mark that moves her up one spot to No. 4 among UCI's all-time leaders.
Junior Persis William-Mensah defended her 100m title as she finished ahead of the pack in a blistering personal-record 11.44. Her time would have shattered the meet record of 11.67, which has stood since 1999, had it not been for the slight +2.1 wind factor. William-Mensah, who was coming off a wind-legal program-record 11.57 last weekend, kept her top ranking in the Big West and moved into the top-15 in the NCAA West Region. The Costa Mesa, Calif., native also scored in the 200m where she took fourth with a personal-best 24.22 (+3.1).
Senior Ariel Cheng won the pole vault for the third year in a row. She cleared a season-best 12-06 to claim top honors. Sophomore Adrienne Lee scored in the event as well, reaching a season-best 11-00.25 to finish seventh.
Sophomore Barbara Coward was the back-to-back champion in the discus with a toss of 174-11, which broke a 10-year old meet record. Coward has now won the event in five of six meets this season.
Sophomore Elizabeth Akindele secured her third event win of the year as she beat out the rest of the field in the shot put with a toss of 45-05.25.
UC Irvine had a number of other strong performances in addition to the individual victories. Senior Crystal Lizaola was the runner-up in the 400m hurdles (61.28), while Jones placed third overall (62.23). Sophomore Hope Bushnell also posted a pair of wind-aided personal bests and top-four finishes. Bushnell was third in the 200m (24.11) and fourth in the 100m (11.73).
In the hammer throw, junior Dazhana Bauer-Jackson took third with a season-best 179-07. Coward wasn't far behind in fourth (172-01). Junior Alison Meegan chipped in a personal-record 153-03, which puts her at No. 8 in program history.
Senior Aliya Shah (11:07.96) and sophomore Hallie Pullum (2:15.39) added fourth-place showings in the steeplechase and 800m, respectively.
Freshman Anastasia Karnaze led five 'Eaters in the 3000m with a runner-up performance. She clocked in at 10:05.30. Sophomore Megan Mirkhanian took eighth in a lifetime-best 10:28.78. Freshman Brenda Dorantes came in sixth in the 1500m (4:42.62), and senior Marisa Gonzalez also registered a personal-best 4:45.22 to place seventh.
The Anteaters opened and closed the meet with runner-up finishes in the two relay events. Jones, George, Bushnell and William-Mensah combined to run a season-best 45.22 in the 4x100. Their time beat the previous meet record but the quartet was narrowly edged out by host Long Beach State.
In the 4x400, sophomore Brandy Coward, Lizaola, Syed and junior Simone Buchanan ran a season-best 3:44.49.
UC Irvine returns to action next week with four different meets on the docket – Bryan Clay Invitational (April 13-14), Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (April 13), Mt. SAC Relays (April 14-15) and Beach Invitational (April 15).
Big West Challenge Women's Team Results
1. UC Santa Barbara – 178
2. Long Beach State – 171.5
3. UC Irvine – 157
4. Cal State Fullerton – 127.5
