2018 Women's Cross Country Season Preview
August 22, 2018 | Women's Cross Country
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's cross country team is starting to put the pieces together for what should be an exciting and successful season as the Anteaters return four of their top-five runners from a year ago, and have added some depth with a strong incoming class in 2018.
"We are really excited about our women's team," UCI distance coach Chris Evans said. "We return Anastasia, Brenda, Keely and Megan from last year, and they have been running on our varsity team since they were freshmen, so they've been through everything. They give us a lot of experience and to top that off, we brought in Mariah, who was the state community college champion in the steeplechase.
"Our freshmen will also really strengthen our top-seven. Hannah saw a significant drop in her times this past year as a senior in high school, and has come to us in great shape. We also have Natalie and Perla, who were both multi-year high school state qualifiers."
"It is going to be a new team, and they have come together with some new goals," Evans added. "Our conference is tough, but I think our women have the competitive fire and the depth to really get up and compete with some teams that we haven't been with the past couple years."
FIRST LOOK
>> The Anteaters welcome back 12 letterwinners, including junior Anastasia Karnaze, who led the way in five of six races last year. She was UCI's No. 1 runner at the Big West Championships and NCAA West Regional, while also owning the team's best times of the season in the 5K (18:13.1) and 6K (21:59.2).
>> Juniors Brenda Dorantes and Keely Boyd were consistently among UC Irvine's top-five last year. Dorantes closed out the campaign ranked second on the team in the 6K (22:28.8) and third in the 5K (18:41.4), while Boyd was fourth in both distances.
>> Senior Megan Mirkhanian competed in every race in 2017, gaining invaluable experience in her second career Big West and NCAA Regional meets.
"We are looking forward to seeing our upperclassmen's growth from their past experiences come out this season," Evans said. "It will be exciting to watch them step forward to lead this team, and to have them pass on the lessons they have learned to our incoming freshmen and junior college transfers."
>> UC Irvine also returns fifth-year senior Olympia Martinez, junior Hallie Pullum, and sophomores Amy Flores and Amy Sovinsky.
>> Entering the mix in 2018 are four freshmen and one junior college transfer.
>> Junior Mariah Theologidy is expected to make an immediate impact as a two-time California Community College State Championship qualifier at Antelope Valley College. She was also the 2018 state champion in the 3000m steeplechase on the track.
>> Freshman Hannah Chau is another strong contender this year as she was a three-time CIF State qualifier at Justin-Siena High School. Chau was named the 2017-18 Napa Valley Register Female Athlete of the Year.
>> Freshmen Natalie Ewe (Lowell HS) and Perla Aguilar (San Pedro HS) were also league champions and CIF State qualifiers during their prep careers.
>> UC Irvine begins its six-meet slate next Saturday, Sept. 1, when it makes the short trip to Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea for the Mark Covert Classic.
"We are really excited about our women's team," UCI distance coach Chris Evans said. "We return Anastasia, Brenda, Keely and Megan from last year, and they have been running on our varsity team since they were freshmen, so they've been through everything. They give us a lot of experience and to top that off, we brought in Mariah, who was the state community college champion in the steeplechase.
"Our freshmen will also really strengthen our top-seven. Hannah saw a significant drop in her times this past year as a senior in high school, and has come to us in great shape. We also have Natalie and Perla, who were both multi-year high school state qualifiers."
"It is going to be a new team, and they have come together with some new goals," Evans added. "Our conference is tough, but I think our women have the competitive fire and the depth to really get up and compete with some teams that we haven't been with the past couple years."
FIRST LOOK
>> The Anteaters welcome back 12 letterwinners, including junior Anastasia Karnaze, who led the way in five of six races last year. She was UCI's No. 1 runner at the Big West Championships and NCAA West Regional, while also owning the team's best times of the season in the 5K (18:13.1) and 6K (21:59.2).
>> Juniors Brenda Dorantes and Keely Boyd were consistently among UC Irvine's top-five last year. Dorantes closed out the campaign ranked second on the team in the 6K (22:28.8) and third in the 5K (18:41.4), while Boyd was fourth in both distances.
>> Senior Megan Mirkhanian competed in every race in 2017, gaining invaluable experience in her second career Big West and NCAA Regional meets.
"We are looking forward to seeing our upperclassmen's growth from their past experiences come out this season," Evans said. "It will be exciting to watch them step forward to lead this team, and to have them pass on the lessons they have learned to our incoming freshmen and junior college transfers."
>> UC Irvine also returns fifth-year senior Olympia Martinez, junior Hallie Pullum, and sophomores Amy Flores and Amy Sovinsky.
>> Entering the mix in 2018 are four freshmen and one junior college transfer.
>> Junior Mariah Theologidy is expected to make an immediate impact as a two-time California Community College State Championship qualifier at Antelope Valley College. She was also the 2018 state champion in the 3000m steeplechase on the track.
>> Freshman Hannah Chau is another strong contender this year as she was a three-time CIF State qualifier at Justin-Siena High School. Chau was named the 2017-18 Napa Valley Register Female Athlete of the Year.
>> Freshmen Natalie Ewe (Lowell HS) and Perla Aguilar (San Pedro HS) were also league champions and CIF State qualifiers during their prep careers.
>> UC Irvine begins its six-meet slate next Saturday, Sept. 1, when it makes the short trip to Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea for the Mark Covert Classic.
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𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝. 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩.
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