Thursday, May 23
Sacramento, CA
4:00 PM PT
UC Irvine
at
NCAA West Preliminaries
Coward's NCAA Journey Begins Thursday in Sacramento
May 21, 2019 | Women's Track & Field
NCAA West Preliminary Round
Dates: May 23-25 (Thursday-Saturday)
Location: Hornet Stadium - Sacramento, Calif.
Live Stream ($): FloTrack
Live Results:Β NCAA.com
Notes (PDF)Β // Heat Sheets
IRVINE, Calif. - Senior Barbara Coward will represent the UC Irvine women's track & field team at the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, May 23-25.
Coward is slated to open the three-day meet late Thursday afternoon with the hammer throw at 4 p.m. She then returns to action on Friday at 12 p.m. in the discus where she is seeded ninth. The Atwater, Calif., native will be looking to punch her ticket to the NCAA Championships this week as the top-12 finishers in each event advance to nationals, June 5-8, in Austin, Texas.
STORYLINES
β’ Barbara Coward is a two-event NCAA West Preliminary qualifier for the second year in a row.
β’ It is also her fourth consecutive trip to the regional meet in the discus.
β’ She broke her own school records in the discus (186-4) and hammer (196-7) earlier this season.
β’ Coward won both events at the Big West Championships in Santa Barbara, May 10-11.
ALL-BIG WEST ACCOLADES
β’ The UCI women had four individuals earn All-Big West distinction for their top-three finishes at the conference meet.
β’ Coward led the way as the Big West champion in both the hammer and discus.
β’ Brianna Villanueva made her way onto the podium along with Coward, placing third in the hammer and discus.
β’ Elizabeth Akindele was the runner-up in the shot put, while Zani Meaders came in third in the 400m.
Β
BARBARA COWARD // Discus & Hammer // Senior // Atwater, Calif.
β’ Coward is making her fourth-straight NCAA appearance in the discus, and second in the hammer.
β’ She is coming off an impressive performance at the Big West Championships where she won both events.
β’ With her two victories, she became the conference's first double champion in the discus and hammer since 2015.
β’ She easily defended her title in the discus, beating the rest of the field by over 21 feet with a heave of 180-9.
β’ The following day, she came out on top in a back-and-forth battle that saw three lead changes through six throws.
β’ Coward trailed after the fifth round but dug deep on her last attempt, hitting 195-6 to edge the runner-up by one inch.
β’ She is UC Irvine's first-ever Big West champion in the women's hammer throw.
β’ On April 26, Coward broke her own hammer record for the second time in 2019 with a toss of 196-7.
β’ That topped her previous best of 196-2, which she established at the Beach Opener on March 2.
β’ She has held the No. 1 spot in the Big West all season and currently sits at No. 34 in the West Region.
β’ At the Triton Invitational, Coward crushed her UCI discus record by nearly six feet with a lifetime-best 186-4.
β’ That mark ranks first in the Big West, ninth in the West Region and 13th in all of NCAA Division I.
β’ Coward has earned a conference-record tying four Big West Field Athlete of the Week awards this season.
β’ Her seven career citations are also tied for the most in league history.
β’ This year, she has combined for seven individual victories in 13 hammer and discus competitions.
Β
Related Links
Feature:Β Coward a Champion by Any Measure
Coward Q&A
Coward Walk & Talk Video
Β
Β
Dates: May 23-25 (Thursday-Saturday)
Location: Hornet Stadium - Sacramento, Calif.
Live Stream ($): FloTrack
Live Results:Β NCAA.com
Notes (PDF)Β // Heat Sheets
IRVINE, Calif. - Senior Barbara Coward will represent the UC Irvine women's track & field team at the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, May 23-25.
Coward is slated to open the three-day meet late Thursday afternoon with the hammer throw at 4 p.m. She then returns to action on Friday at 12 p.m. in the discus where she is seeded ninth. The Atwater, Calif., native will be looking to punch her ticket to the NCAA Championships this week as the top-12 finishers in each event advance to nationals, June 5-8, in Austin, Texas.
STORYLINES
β’ Barbara Coward is a two-event NCAA West Preliminary qualifier for the second year in a row.
β’ It is also her fourth consecutive trip to the regional meet in the discus.
β’ She broke her own school records in the discus (186-4) and hammer (196-7) earlier this season.
β’ Coward won both events at the Big West Championships in Santa Barbara, May 10-11.
ALL-BIG WEST ACCOLADES
β’ The UCI women had four individuals earn All-Big West distinction for their top-three finishes at the conference meet.
β’ Coward led the way as the Big West champion in both the hammer and discus.
β’ Brianna Villanueva made her way onto the podium along with Coward, placing third in the hammer and discus.
β’ Elizabeth Akindele was the runner-up in the shot put, while Zani Meaders came in third in the 400m.
Β
BARBARA COWARD // Discus & Hammer // Senior // Atwater, Calif.
β’ Coward is making her fourth-straight NCAA appearance in the discus, and second in the hammer.
β’ She is coming off an impressive performance at the Big West Championships where she won both events.
β’ With her two victories, she became the conference's first double champion in the discus and hammer since 2015.
β’ She easily defended her title in the discus, beating the rest of the field by over 21 feet with a heave of 180-9.
β’ The following day, she came out on top in a back-and-forth battle that saw three lead changes through six throws.
β’ Coward trailed after the fifth round but dug deep on her last attempt, hitting 195-6 to edge the runner-up by one inch.
β’ She is UC Irvine's first-ever Big West champion in the women's hammer throw.
β’ On April 26, Coward broke her own hammer record for the second time in 2019 with a toss of 196-7.
β’ That topped her previous best of 196-2, which she established at the Beach Opener on March 2.
β’ She has held the No. 1 spot in the Big West all season and currently sits at No. 34 in the West Region.
β’ At the Triton Invitational, Coward crushed her UCI discus record by nearly six feet with a lifetime-best 186-4.
β’ That mark ranks first in the Big West, ninth in the West Region and 13th in all of NCAA Division I.
β’ Coward has earned a conference-record tying four Big West Field Athlete of the Week awards this season.
β’ Her seven career citations are also tied for the most in league history.
β’ This year, she has combined for seven individual victories in 13 hammer and discus competitions.
Β
Related Links
Feature:Β Coward a Champion by Any Measure
Coward Q&A
Coward Walk & Talk Video
Β
Β
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
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