UC Riverside Spring Track Classic
Dates: Friday-Saturday, March 23-24
Time: 2:30 p.m. (PDT) / 10 a.m. (PDT)
Location: UC Riverside Track & Field Stadium - Riverside, Calif.
Meet Info // Schedule // Live Results

UC Irvine Meet Notes

The UC Irvine women's track & field team will make its way to the Inland Empire this weekend for the UC Riverside Spring Track Classic, March 23-24.
 
The Anteaters, who have 25 individuals entered in 15 events, are set to begin competition on Friday with the hammer throw at 2:30 p.m. A full day of action is then scheduled for Saturday, starting with the shot put and pole vault at 10 a.m. The track events commence in the afternoon with the 4x100 relay at 1 p.m. The two-day meet will be held at UC Riverside Track & Field Stadium.
 
QUICK HITS
• Persis William-Mensah owns three outdoor (100m, 200m, 4x100) and two indoor (60m, 200m) school records.
• She added the outdoor 200m to her resume after taking down UCI's 22-year old record in her season debut (23.90).
• William-Mensah has also set a new standard in the 100m in three consecutive campaigns and currently sits at 11.57.
• Hope Bushnell ranks among the Anteaters' all-time top-10 in the 100m and 200m.
• Barbara Coward has placed no lower than fifth in the discus and hammer this year.
• In 2017, Coward set the program record in the discus at 180-08.
• Anastasia Karnaze holds UC Irvine's top times of the young season in the steeplechase and 5000m.
• Karnaze established a personal-record 11:11.47 in the steeple at the UCI Spring Break Classic.
• Simone Buchanan ran the anchor leg on UCI's 4x400 relay that established a school-record 3:42.57 last year.
• UC Irvine's 41-woman roster features 15 newcomers, including 13 freshmen.
 
LAST TIME OUT: UCI SPRING BREAK CLASSIC RECAP
• Persis William-Mensah broke a 22-year old school record in the 200m with a lifetime-best 23.90.
• She also teamed up with Hope Bushnell, Julia Sambvani and Mikayla Scott to finish ahead of the pack in the 4x100.
• The 'Eaters made it a relay sweep as Sambvani, Scott, Hallie Pullum and Simone Buchanan won the 4x400.
• Bushnell went on to pick up her second victory of the day by taking top honors in the 100m (11.83).
• She capped an impressive afternoon with a third-place finish in the 200m (24.29).
• Buchanan was the runner-up in the 400m with a season-best 56.11.
• Mychal Robinson established a personal-record 14.00 in the 100m hurdles, putting her at No. 8 in UCI history.
• Adrienne Lee added an individual victory in the pole vault, clearing 11-01.
• Tatyana Hamlett registered a career-best 37-05.75 in the triple jump.
• Brianna Villanueva had a lifetime-best 151-01 in the discus to rank seventh in program history.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
Senior Persis William-Mensah has kept herself busy over the last couple summers, partaking in the two most elite international track & field competitions. In 2016, William-Mensah was one of 16 athletes to represent Ghana at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as she was selected for the 4x100 relay pool after running the 100m at the African Senior Track & Field Championships. In 2017, she was also a member of Ghana's 4x100 that earned a berth into the IAAF World Championships in London.
 
RECORD BREAKER
William-Mensah's collegiate career has benefited from her international experience as she continues to add to her legacy at UC Irvine. Last weekend, the Costa Mesa, Calif., native, broke a 22-year old school record in the 200m with a lifetime-best 23.90. She was the first 'Eater to run a sub-24 second 200m, shattering Toby Dean's previous standard of 24.06, which had held up since 1996. It was the third outdoor record for William-Mensah, who already owns the program's top mark in the 100m (11.57) and 4x100 relay (44.51). She has set the 100m record in each of the last three years and will be making her season debut in that event on Saturday.
 
DOUBLE THE FUN
Junior Brandy Coward won two events at the Ben Brown Invitational on March 10. She started the meet with an individual victory in the 200m, clocking in at 25 seconds flat, and then came back later in the afternoon to run the third leg on the 4x400 relay that finished first in 3:53.12. Junior Hope Bushnell was also a double champion in the 100m (11.83) and 4x100 (45.67) at the UCI Spring Break Collegiate Classic.
 
FRESH FACES
UC Irvine's 41-member roster features 15 newcomers (13 freshmen). Junior transfers Julia Sambvani and Mychal Robinson, along with freshmen Mikayla Scott and Natalie Koppel, are expected to make an immediate impact in their first year at UCI.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will prepare for UCLA's Bob Larsen Distance Carnival (March 30) and Sacramento State's Mondo Team Challenge (March 31) next week.