'Eaters Prepare for UCSD Triton Invitational

Friday, April 13

La Jolla, CA

9:30 AM PT

UC Irvine

Triton Invitational

'Eaters Prepare for UCSD Triton Invitational

April 12, 2018 | Women's Track & Field

Triton Invitational
Dates: Friday-Saturday, April 13-14
Time: 9:30 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Triton Track & Field Stadium - La Jolla, Calif.
Meet Program // Schedule // Live Results

UC Irvine Meet Notes

The UC Irvine women's track & field team is back on the road this weekend as 19 Anteaters are set to compete at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, April 13-14. The two-day meet will be held at Triton Track & Field Stadium on the campus of future Big West member UC San Diego. The 'Eaters are slated to begin action Friday at 9:30 a.m. with the hammer throw, followed by the pole vault and discus. They will return for a full day of track events on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

QUICK HITS
• Persis William-Mensah holds three outdoor (100m, 200m, 4x100) and two indoor (60m, 200m) school records.
• Last Friday, she bettered her own 100m standard at the Big West Challenge with a wind-legal career-best 11.51.
• William-Mensah also broke the 200m record twice in as many weeks, most recently running a PR 23.88 on March 24.
• Barbara Coward was named the Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week on April 10.
• She was recognized after winning the hammer (187-07) and discus (169-03) with league-leading marks at the Big West Challenge.
• Coward's 187-07 in the hammer shattered her previous PR by over 10 feet and broke a two-year old program record.
• Hope Bushnell ranks among the Anteaters' all-time top-10 in the 100m (T3rd, 11.76) and 200m (2nd, 24.03).
• UC Irvine's 40-woman roster features 15 newcomers, including 13 freshmen.

LAST TIME OUT: BIG WEST CHALLENGE HIGHLIGHTS
• Barbara Coward won the hammer (187-07) and discus (169-03). Her 187-07 broke UCI's hammer record.
• Alison Meegan made a statement in her season debut, coming in second in the hammer at 180-08.
• Meegan obliterated her old PR by 24 feet, 11 inches and catapulted up the charts to No. 3 in program history.
• Persis William-Mensah set a new 100m school record for the fourth year in a row, running a wind-legal PR 11.51.
• Adrienne Lee cleared a lifetime-best 11-11.75 in the pole vault and is now tied for fourth on UCI's all-time charts.
• Hope Bushnell established personal records in the 100m (11.76) and 200m (24.03).
• Julia Sambvani was the runner-up in the 400m hurdles with a season-best 62.07.
• Bushnell, William-Mensah, Sambvani and Mikayla Scott won the 4x100 relay in a season-best 45.05 seconds.

COWARD COLLECTS WEEKLY HONORS
Junior Barbara Coward earned her third career Big West Field Athlete of the Week award following a pair of individual victories at the Big West Challenge on April 6. Coward started her day by winning the hammer where she unleashed a huge personal and school-record 187-07 on her final attempt. The Atwater, Calif., native crushed her PR coming into the meet by over 10 feet and overtook the top spot in program history, breaking Bridget Devaney's two-year old record of 182-05. Coward returned to action a couple hours later for her third-straight Big West Challenge discus title as she registered a season-best 169-03. She ranks first in the conference in both events.

RECORD BREAKER
Senior Persis William-Mensah has continued to add to her legacy as one of UC Irvine's all-time great sprinters. At the UCI Spring Break Collegiate Classic (March 17), 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. One week later, she topped that performance with another PR of 23.88 at the UC Riverside Spring Track Classic. Last weekend, William-Mensah established a new program record in the 100m for the fourth year in a row. She clocked in at a wind-legal career-best 11.51 to beat her previous standard of 11.57. William-Mensah now owns UCI's top marks in the 100m (11.51), 200m (23.88) and 4x100 (44.51).

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
William-Mensah has also put her talent on display at the international level as she was one of 16 athletes to represent Ghana at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was selected for the 4x100 relay pool after running the 100m at the African Senior Track & Field Championships. In addition, William-Mensah was a member of Ghana's 4x100 that earned a berth into the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London.

BUSHNELL BRINGS THE HEAT
Junior Hope Bushnell has joined William-Mensah to make a formidable 1-2 punch in the 100m and 200m. Bushnell has established two personal records in both events this year. At the UCR Spring Track Classic, she claimed the 100m title in a wind-legal lifetime-best 11.77, while running an all-conditions career-best of 24.06 in the 200m. She went on to improve those times at the Big West Challenge where she clocked in at 11.76 and 24.03, respectively. Bushnell now ranks second in school history in the 200m and is tied for third in the 100m.

RAISING THE BAR
Junior pole vaulter Adrienne Lee has either tied or bettered her PR in four of five meets this season. She matched her old career-best of 11-03.75 at the season-opening Ben Brown Invitational before clearing 11-06.25 at the UCR Spring Track Classic and 11-07.75 at the Mondo Team Challenge. Lee continued to raise the bar at the Big West Challenge where she reached 11-11.75 to move into a tie for fourth on UCI's all-time charts.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine has a busy week ahead as it will send athletes to the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 19-20) in Azusa, the Mt. SAC Relays (April 19-21) in Torrance, and both the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (April 19) and Beach Invitational (April 20-21) in Long Beach.