IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's indoor track & field team is gearing up for the 2019 season which begins with the Lumberjack Team Challenge in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Friday, Jan. 18.
 
The Anteaters have a familiar schedule as they will head to both the UW Invitational (Seattle, Wash.) and Don Kirby Invitational (Albuquerque, N.M.) for the fifth year in a row, before making their way back to Seattle for the MPSF Indoor Championships.
 
"We are looking to find a good rhythm early and keep that rolling into the outdoor season," UCI head coach Jeff Perkins said. "This indoor season is critical in terms of the experience gained for each and every one of our athletes."
 
UC Irvine will once again be strong in the sprints and hurdles. Despite losing multiple school-record holder Persis William-Mensah to graduation, the Anteaters still return two of their top-three sprinters from a year ago. Leading the way will be senior Hope Bushnell, who ranks second in program history in both the 60m (7.57) and 200m (24.50).
 
Sophomore Mikayla Scott is also coming off an impressive 2018 campaign in which she established personal bests in the 200m (25.24) and 400m (57.03).
 
Senior Mychal Robinson will look to anchor the 'Eaters in the hurdles, while also bringing depth to the sprints. Robinson recorded the third-fastest 60m hurdle time in school history at 8.63 seconds last season.
 
"Hope and Mychal are already in the top-five on our indoor list so we are looking for them to really step up and challenge those school records in the 60m and 60H," Perkins said. "As for Mikayla, she is converting to the 400m this season, so we will work on her being at her best by the MPSF Championships."
 
Freshman Zani Meaders is also poised to make an impact as she was a CIF State Finalist in the 400m and 4x400 relay at Chino Hills High School.
 
The throws squad will be deep this year with an accomplished group of upperclassmen returning. Senior Barbara Coward is back for her final season, and she has her eyes set on another school record. Coward, who already owns the top outdoor marks in the discus and hammer, enters the 2019 indoor season just 10 inches shy of the weight throw record.
 
"We are looking for Barbara to improve on her performance from last season, and with all her hard work in the offseason, that should be a foregone conclusion," Perkins said.
 
Senior Alison Meegan and junior Brianna Villanueva have also made great strides over the last couple years as they are both among the Anteaters' top-10 in the weight throw. In addition, senior Elizabeth Akindele has put herself on the map in the shot put, sitting at No. 3 with a personal-best 45-10.5.
 
The distance squad is expected to be much improved following a promising cross country season. The Anteaters welcome back their top-two indoor performers from last year in senior Hallie Pullum (800m) and junior Anastasia Karnaze (Mile, 3000m). They have also added freshmen Hannah Chau and Natalie Ewe, along with junior transfer Mariah Theologidy. Chau was UCI's No. 1 runner in five of six cross country races, and established the sixth-fastest 6000-meter time in school history (20:59.2) during the fall.
 
"We definitely have some freshmen that can make an immediate impact within the program," Perkins stated. "Two of those individuals are Hannah Chau and Zani Meaders as they were both very good in high school. I can see them challenging our all-time indoor marks in their respective events."
 
Senior Adrienne Lee (Pole Vault) will lead the way in the jumps as she already ranks fourth in school history with an indoor personal-record 10-11.75. Sophomore Natalie Koppel and junior Tatyana Hamlett are also UCI's top returners in the long jump.