UC Riverside Spring Track Classic
Dates: March 22-23, 2019 (Friday-Saturday)
Time: 2 p.m. / 10 a.m.
Location: UC Riverside Track & Field Stadium
Live Results // Schedule 

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's track & field team makes its way to the Inland Empire this weekend for the UC Riverside Spring Track Classic, March 22-23.
 
For the Anteaters, the meet gets underway Friday with the hammer throw at 2 p.m. They will then get ready for a busy Saturday, beginning with the shot put and pole vault at 10 a.m. The track events are slated for a 1 p.m. start (4x100). The 'Eaters have 32 individuals entered in 15 events.
 
STORYLINES
• Senior Barbara Coward earned back-to-back Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week nods on March 5 and 12.
• At the Beach Opener, she won the discus and hammer, while breaking her own school record in the latter event.
• Coward was also the hammer champion and runner-up in the discus at the Ben Brown Invitational (March 8).
• All of UCI's regular-season meets will take place in Southern California.
• The only time UCI travels outside of the region is for NCAA postseason competition.
• The NCAA West Prelims are in Sacramento, while the NCAA Championships will be held in Austin, Texas.
• The 'Eaters have a good mix of experience and youth with 22 returners and 19 newcomers.
• Of their 22 returners, 10 have already etched their names in the program's record book.
• Coward leads the way as the school record holder in the discus (180-08) and hammer (196-02).
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The 'Eaters made an impressive home debut with four event wins at the UCI Spring Break Collegiate Classic.
• Hope Bushnell was a double champion in the 100m (11.88) and 200m (24.37).
• She was the only competitor to run a sub-12 second time in the 100m.
• Zani Meaders cruised to the 400m title with the eighth-fastest time in program history (55.74).
• Julia Sambvani, Meaders, Briana Johnson and Mikayla Scott also combined for a victory in the 4x400 (3:48.90).
• Mariah Theologidy (17:46.58) and Brenda Dorantes (17:51.34) were second and third, respectively, in the 5000m.
• They both notched Big West qualifying times as did Anastasia Karnaze (11:10.17) in the steeplechase.
• In the field events, Brianna Villanueva placed third in both the discus (153-02) and hammer.
• Villanueva established a personal-record 178-05 in the hammer, moving her up one spot to No. 5 in program history.
• Adrienne Lee also cleared a season-best 11-03.75 to tie for sixth in the pole vault.
 
HAMMER TIME
• Barbara Coward earned the first two Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week awards of the 2019 campaign.
• Coward kicked off the outdoor season by taking home the hammer and discus titles at the Beach Opener.
• She started the meet by breaking her own school record in the hammer with a toss of 196-02.
• The Atwater, Calif., native topped her previous best by nearly four feet.
• Coward also finished ahead of the pack by over 10 feet in the discus (156-06).
• One week later, she notched a season-best 175-06 at the Ben Brown Invitational.
• She added her second-straight individual victory in the hammer at 187-04.
• Both of Coward's season-best marks rank first in the Big West and are among the top-10 in all of NCAA Division I.
 
MORE FROM THE THROWERS
• Junior Brianna Villanueva has provided a solid 1-2 punch behind Coward in the discus and hammer.
• She has already established multiple PRs in both events and finished no lower than fifth in three meets this year.
• Villanueva ranks fifth in school history in the hammer throw (178-05) and seventh in the discus (157-07).
• Freshman Tayla Crenshaw added a lifetime-best 158-02 in the hammer to come in at No. 9 on UCI's all-time charts.
• Senior Elizabeth Akindele won the shot put at the Ben Brown Invitational with a season-best 45-03.75.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
• After just one outdoor meet, freshman Zani Meaders already ranks among the program's best 400m runners.
• Meaders won the 400 by over a second at the UC Irvine Spring Break Collegiate Classic with a time of 55.74.
• That mark puts the Chino Hills native at No. 8 in school history.
• Meaders is only the third Anteater in the last six years to crack UCI's all-time top-10 in the 400m.
• During the indoor campaign, she also broke the 400m school record (55.78), while ranking sixth in the 200m (25.36).
 
LAST HURRAH
• Senior Hope Bushnell looks to improve on a pair of top-three marks in school history in her final campaign.
• Last year, she ran UCI's second-fastest 200m (24.03) and third-fastest 100m (11.76).
• In her 2019 outdoor debut, Bushnell swept the short sprints with impressive early season marks of 11.88 and 24.37.
• The Upland, Calif., native is a two-time All-Big West performer.
 
UP NEXT
• UC Irvine heads to Los Angeles next week for the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival and Jim Bush Legends Invitational.
• The meets will be held on March 29 & 30, respectively, with both competitions taking place at UCLA's Drake Stadium.