UC Irvine
Big West Championships
Megan George Highlights Final Day of Big West Championships
May 13, 2017 | Women's Track & Field
FULLERTON, Calif. – Senior Megan George took home her third-straight 100-meter hurdle title to lead UC Irvine at the Big West Championships Saturday at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Track Complex.
"It was a great meet for us," UCI head coach Jeff Perkins said. "It has become a much more challenging meet all around from every team's standpoint, so our team finish probably isn't what we expected in terms of what we wanted to do, but from an individual standpoint we performed very well. We had a decent number of conference champions and we're right in the hunt, we just need to get more depth."
George, who claimed the Anteaters' first 100m hurdle title in school history as a sophomore, completed the three-peat with a time of 13.43. She joined select company as the fourth three-time champion in Big West history, and is the first since Lauren Williams (Cal State Fullerton) finished off a four-year run in 2011. George is UC Irvine's record holder at 13.28.
"The quality Megan and Lloyd (Sicard) have above anyone else is that they know how to compete," Perkins said. "It might not look pretty, or be the best race ever, but they know how to compete to win and they've had that in their blood probably since they were kids running in club track. They go out there and always find a way to get the job done. I'm very proud of both of them."
George was also a member of the 4x400 relay that broke a five-year old school record. Senior Saniya Syed, George, senior Crystal Lizaola and junior Simone Buchanan crossed the finish line in a program-best 3:42.57. The quartet placed fourth overall.
Junior Persis William-Mensah secured runner-up honors in the 100m, clocking in at 11.45, which was just one-hundredth of a second behind Marie Veale of CSUN. Sophomore Hope Bushnell added a point in both the 100m (11.91) and 200m (24.23) with a pair of eighth-place finishes.
Junior Tyra Jones, George, Bushnell and William-Mensah put together an all-conference performance in the 4x100 relay where they were third overall. The quartet registered a season-best 45.09.
Also scoring on the track were Lizaola (4th) and Jones (7th) in the 400H, and sophomore Hallie Pullum in the 800m (7th). Pullum was a surprise 800m finalist after recording a career-best 2:12.20 in Friday's prelim.
The 'Eaters shined in the field events as well. Senior Melanie Speech was the runner-up in the javelin with a personal-record 144-00, which ranks third in school history. Sophomore Barbara Coward was also second in the discus at 179-05. Coward was consistent throughout the competition with four of her six attempts surpassing the 170-foot mark.
Senior Ariel Cheng chipped in an eighth-place showing in the pole vault after clearing 12-04.50.
UCI finished seventh in the team standings with 62 points. CSUN (144) edged out UC Davis (142.70) for its 10th Big West title.
UC Irvine will now send its qualified athletes (top-48 in the West Region) to the NCAA West Preliminary in Austin, Texas, May 25-27.
Women's Team Results
1. CSUN - 144
2. UC Davis - 142.70
3. UC Santa Barbara - 128.40
4. Long Beach State - 104.70
5. Cal Poly - 84
6. Cal State Fullerton - 63.20
7. UC Irvine - 62
8. UC Riverside - 58
9. Hawai'i - 29
Players Mentioned
