Triton Invitational
Dates: April 12-13, 2019
Location: Triton Track & Field Stadium - La Jolla, Calif.
Live Results // Meet Program

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's track & field team will send two individuals to La Jolla this weekend for UC San Diego's Triton Invitational, April 12-13.
 
The Anteaters' Barbara Coward gets the weekend started in the invitational section of the discus Friday at 1:30 p.m. Julia Sambvani is also slated to run the 400m Saturday at 12:35 p.m.
 
STORYLINES
• This marks the fourth year in a row the 'Eaters will have multiple entries in the Triton Invitational.
• Senior Barbara Coward earned back-to-back Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week nods on March 5 and 12.
• She broke her own school record in the hammer throw at the Beach Opener on March 1.
• Coward is working her way back from an injury, competing in only the discus in each of the last two meets.
• 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 21 returners and 18 newcomers.
• Of their 21 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 Anteaters secured three event wins at the Big West Challenge in Santa Barbara last Friday.
• Zani Meaders clocked in at 55.70 to finish ahead of the pack in the 400m.
• Mikayla Scott also came in third (56.62), while Briana Johnson notched a season-best 59.55 (9th).
• Elizabeth Akindele took top honors in the shot put with a season-best 45-09.25.
• Barbara Coward claimed the discus title by over 14 feet, finishing with a top throw of 169-08.
• Anastasia Karnaze cracked the 11-minute mark in the steeple for the first time in her career with a PR 10:58.72.
• Hope Bushnell was the runner-up in the 200m (24.45) and matched her season best in the 100m at 11.88 (3rd).
• Imani Jones ran a personal-record 14.43 in the 100m hurdles, which was good for fourth.
• Hannah Chau came in fourth in the 3000m with a season-best 10:17.67.
• For the second meet in a row, Adrienne Lee cleared 11-11.75 to match her PR 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 both 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 in a runner-up performance at the Ben Brown Invitational.
• She added her second-straight individual victory in the hammer at 187-04.
• Both of Coward's season-bests rank first in the Big West and are among the top-25 in the NCAA West Region.
 
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 six 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 and Big West Challenge.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
• In her first collegiate outdoor meet, freshman Zani Meaders etched her name among UCI's elite 400m runners.
• Meaders won the 400 by over a second at the UC Irvine Spring Break Collegiate Classic with a time of 55.74.
• She saw an improvement in her next outing at the Jim Bush Legends Invitational, running a 55.68 to finish second.
• 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 the program's all-time top-10 in the 400m.
• During the indoor campaign, Meaders 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 the Anteaters' 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.
• She added another event win in the 100m at the UC Riverside Spring Track Classic.
• The Upland, Calif., native is a two-time All-Big West performer.
 
BIG WEST DISTANCE QUALIFIERS
• Last year, UC Irvine's distance squad combined for two Big West qualifying marks (5000m, Steeplechase).
• In just the second meet of 2019, the 'Eaters bettered that total with three qualifying times.
• Mariah Theologidy clocked in at 17:46.58 to finish second in the 5000m at the UCI Spring Break Collegiate Classic.
• Brenda Dorantes was not far behind in third with a time of 17:51.34.
• Anastasia Karnaze also notched a Big West qualifier in the steeplechase (11:10.17).
• Karnaze went on to improve her time with a personal-best 10:58.72 at the Big West Challenge.
• Theologidy added a season-best and conference qualifying mark of 11:29.48 in the steeple.
• Hannah Chau joined the group of qualifiers in her outdoor debut, running a 5000m season-best 17:30.70 at UCLA.
 
UP NEXT
• UC Irvine has a busy week ahead starting with the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 17-19) in Azusa.
• UCI will also head to Long Beach for the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (April 18) and Beach Invitational (April 19-20).
• In addition, a handful of 'Eaters will make their way to Torrance for the Mt. SAC Relays, April 19-20.