Anteaters Ready for Big West Championships on Saturday

Saturday, October 27

Carbon Canyon Regional Park - Brea, CA

9:30 AM PT

UC Irvine

Big West Championships

Anteaters Ready for Big West Championships on Saturday

October 25, 2018 | Women's Cross Country

Big West Championships
Date: Saturday, Oct. 27
Event: 6K
Time: 9:30 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Carbon Canyon Regional Park - Brea, Calif.
Live Results: FinishedResults.com

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's cross country team makes a return trip to Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea for the Big West Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27. The 6000-meter race is slated for a 9:30 a.m. start. Parking is $5 and live results will be available at FinishedResults.com.

DID YOU KNOW?
• UCI won nine of the first 10 Big West Women's Cross Country team titles, including five-straight from 1983-87.
• The Anteaters lead all current and former Big West members with 12 conference championships.
• The 'Eaters have made four NCAA Championship appearances with a high finish of fourth in 1990.

STORYLINES
• The Big West Championships will be held at Carbon Canyon Regional Park for the first time since 1993.
• Twenty-five years ago, UCI tied for second, while Traci Goodrich was the individual 5K runner-up.
• The Anteaters opened the 2018 season at Carbon Canyon Regional Park with the Mark Covert Classic 5K.
• Freshman Hannah Chau has been UC Irvine's No. 1 runner in three of four meets this year.
• In her first career 6000-meter race on Sept. 15, Chau clocked the eighth-fastest time in school history at 20:59.2.
• Chau was the first individual to enter the program's all-time top-10 in the 6K since 2011.
• Newcomers Mariah Theologidy and Natalie Ewe have also been strong additions to the lineup this year.
• Ewe led the 'Eaters at the Highlander Invitational with a 5K personal-best 17:57.70.
• Theologidy, a junior transfer from Antelope Valley College, has consistently been among UCI's top-five.
• Juniors Anastasia Karnaze and Keely Boyd have paced the returners.
• Karnaze owns the squad's second-best 6K time of the season (21:49.3), while Boyd has set PRs in the 5K and 6K.

LAST TIME OUT
• UC Irvine was seventh out of 22 teams at the Highlander Invitational in Riverside on Oct. 13.
• Natalie Ewe led the way finishing 27th out of 251 competitors with a new 5000m personal-record 17:57.70.
• Ewe shaved over a minute off her previous best.
• Junior Brenda Dorantes had her best performance of the year, running a PR 18:13.71 to come in 43rd.
• Freshman Perla Aguilar wasn't far behind, clocking in at 18:17.82 (46th).
• Keely Boyd (18:23.81) and Hannah Chau (18:29.96) also established personal records.
• Mariah Theologidy finished 65th and Anastasia Karnaze was 74th with both notching season bests.

CHAMPIONSHIP PREP
• UC Irvine got an early look at both the Big West Championship and NCAA West Regional courses this year.
• The 'Eaters ran the Carbon Canyon Park course (Big West) at the Mark Covert Classic on Sept. 1.
• They also made their way to Haggin Oaks Golf Complex (NCAA) for the Capital Cross Challenge on Sept. 29.

QUOTABLES
Distance Coach Chris Evans on the team's most recent performance at the Highlander Invitational:
"Natalie had a great race. She really moved up throughout the entire distance and had a great finish. Once again, our pack was tight and close. We just have to finish higher as a group to take that next step at conference."

UP NEXT
• The NCAA West Regional is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9, at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.