Heat Sheets | Schedule | Live Results | UCI Meet Notes/Season Preview

IRVINE, Calif. - After the All-UC Challenge was canceled due to inclement weather last weekend, the UC Irvine women's track & field team will now kick off the 2018 outdoor campaign at the Ben Brown Invitational in Fullerton, March 9-10. The 'Eaters have 25 athletes entered in 14 events.

The meet gets underway Friday with the hammer throw and javelin. A full day of action is then slated for Saturday, with the field events starting at 9 a.m., and the track events commencing at 10:30 a.m.


2018 SEASON PREVIEW



The UC Irvine women's track & field team made significant improvements to its depth for the 2018 campaign with the addition of 15 talented newcomers.
 
"We are excited for the outdoor season to start because that is really the focus for us," fifth-year head coach Jeff Perkins said. "We have some big meets coming up at the end of March and will be preparing our athletes for that both mentally and physically.
 
"We have a few newcomers in the program that we're looking forward to seeing in their first collegiate season, as well as some junior college transfers."
 
The 'Eaters are expecting freshmen Mikayla Scott and Natalie Koppel, as well as junior Julia Sambvani, to make an immediate impact in their first year at UCI. Scott was a CIF State qualifier and league champion in the 100m, 200m, 4x100 and 4x400 at Carondelet High School, while Koppel (Granite Hills HS) was a four-time CIF qualifier in the long jump. Sambvani was also the 2017 CCCAA State runner-up in the 400H and 4x100 relay at Mt. SAC.
 
The newcomers complement a strong returning core group that is led by senior Persis William-Mensah, who is the school record holder in the 100m (11.57). William-Mensah advanced to the NCAA West Prelims last year, and is also a two-time All-Big West performer in both the 100m and 4x100 relay. She is joined by junior Hope Bushnell in the short sprints. Bushnell ranks fourth in program history in the 100m (11.82) and seventh in the 200m (24.19).
 
The Anteaters will miss the presence of three-time Big West champion Megan George in the 100m hurdles, but welcome back senior Tyra Jones, who was a 2017 NCAA West Preliminary qualifier. Jones enters her final collegiate campaign at No. 2 on UCI's all-time charts (13.38).
 
Leading the way in the field is junior Barbara Coward, a two-time regional qualifier and school record holder in the discus (180-08). Also back for UC Irvine is junior Elizabeth Akindele, who ranks among the program's top-five in the shot put.
 
"Across the board, we have a lot of exciting talent that came in this last year," Perkins said. "We're really looking forward to seeing how they develop and what they can do at the conference and national level."
 
UC Irvine will stay local for most of the year with 12 of its 13 regular-season competitions in Southern California. Highlighting the 2018 slate are three home meets - the UCI Spring Collegiate Classic, Big West Challenge and Steve Scott Invitational.
 
"All three meets are going to be a lot more competitive than they were a year ago," Perkins said. "The Spring Break meet has a slew of teams coming from out of state so we're very excited to be hosting them and to have them come out to our facility. The Big West Challenge is a great meet to be a part of and a lot of fun to watch because the teams are really into it. And, the Steve Scott Invitational, which includes Olympians and post-collegiate athletes, is a really high-level meet and our last test before the conference championships."


QUICK HITS
• Persis William-Mensah and Hope Bushnell both rank among UC Irvine's all-time top-10 in the 100m and 200m.
• William-Mensah has set a new 100m school record in each of the last three years and currently sits at 11.57.
• She was also a member of the 4x100 relay that won the Big West title in a program-best 44.51 in 2016.
• William-Mensah was selected to Ghana's 4x100 relay team for the 2016 Olympics and 2017 World Championships.
• Simone Buchanan ran the anchor leg on UCI's 4x400 relay that established a school-record 3:42.57 last year.
• Anastasia Karnaze ran the Anteaters' fastest times in the mile and 3000m as a true freshman in 2017.
• UC Irvine's 41-woman roster features 15 newcomers, 13 of which are freshmen.
 
UP NEXT
The 'Eaters will host the first of their three home meets next weekend with the UCI Spring Collegiate Classic set to take place, March 16-17.