NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mike A. Myers Stadium - Austin, Texas
May 25-27, 2017
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The UC Irvine women's track & field team will send four athletes to compete in three events at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Austin, Texas, May 25-27.

The three-day meet is hosted by the University of Texas at Austin and will be held at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Action gets underway for the 'Eaters on Thursday with junior Persis William-Mensah running in the first round of the 100m. Senior Megan George (100H), junior Tyra Jones (100H) and sophomore Barbara Coward all begin their quest for an NCAA Championship berth on Friday. In the first round of the track events, the top three finishers from each heat plus the next six best times will advance to the quarterfinals. The top three from each quarterfinal heat and the next three best times then qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.

BIG WEST RECAP: UC Irvine is coming off a strong showing at the Big West Championships, where the Anteaters had five all-conference performances, led by senior Megan George's third-straight title in the 100-meter hurdles. Junior Persis William-Mensah (100m), sophomore Barbara Coward (Discus) and senior Melanie Speech (Javelin) added second-place finishes in their respective events, while the quartet of junior Tyra Jones, George, sophomore Hope Bushnell and William-Mensah took third in the 4x100 relay. In the 4x400, senior Saniya Syed, George, senior Crystal Lizaola and junior Simone Buchanan established a school-record 3:42.57 to finish fourth overall.

BARBARA COWARD // Discus // Sophomore // Atwater, Calif.
• Making her second trip to the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in her young career
• Seeded 14th in the discus with a lifetime-best and school-record 180-08
• Placed 36th overall as a freshman at the 2016 West Regional meet
• Threw for over 174 feet in nine of 10 meets this year and secured five first-place finishes
• Broke her own school record in her first two outings to earn back-to-back Big West Field Athlete of the Week honors
• Went for 177-10 at the All-UC Challenge (March 4) and 180-08 at the Ben Brown Invitational (March 11)

MEGAN GEORGE // 100m Hurdles // Senior // Inglewood, Calif.
• Qualified for her third NCAA postseason appearance with a season-best 13.30, which ranks 22nd in the West Region
• Looking for her first bid to nationals after regional finishes of 17th in 2015 and 23rd in 2016
• Claimed her third-straight Big West title on May 13, finishing ahead of the pack in 13.43 seconds
• Became just the fourth three-time 100H champion in conference history
• Her first title in 2015 was the first-ever for UC Irvine in that event
• Also earned All-Big West honors as a member of UCI's 4x100 relay that took third in a season-best 45.09
• Finished no lower than fifth in nine regular-season races with four individual victories
• Currently owns three outdoor school records - 100H (13.28), 4x100 (44.51) and 4x400 (3:42.57)

TYRA JONES // 100m Hurdles // Junior // San Marcos, Calif.
• Ran a personal-record 13.38 in the Big West prelims to secure a spot in her first NCAA postseason meet
• Her time, which is second in school history, ranks third in the Big West and 29th in the West Region this year
• Big West finalist in both hurdle events (100H, 400H), and earned all-conference honors in the 4x100 relay
• Cracked the 14-second mark in six of nine meets, including each of the last three

PERSIS WILLIAM-MENSAH // 100m // Junior // Costa Mesa, Calif.
• Enters the NCAA West Preliminary Championships ranked 20th in the 100m
• Qualified for her second-straight postseason meet with a wind-aided personal-record 11.41 (2.8w)
• Placed 32nd in the first round of last year's West Regional meet
• Has registered four wind-aided sub-11.50 times in 2017
• Finished no lower than third in eight 100m races with five first-place performances
• Big West runner-up for the second year in a row; Also earned all-conference honors in the 4x100 relay (3rd)
• Established a wind-legal career best and school-record 11.57 at the Mondo Team Challenge on April 1
• Part of the 4x100 that ran a program-best 44.51 at the 2016 Big West Championships
• Competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a member of Ghana's 4x100 relay

UP NEXT: The top-12 finishers in each event will advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 7-10.