Anteaters Ready for Big West Championships

Friday, May 10

Santa Barbara, CA

9:00 AM PT

UC Irvine

Big West Championships

Anteaters Ready for Big West Championships

May 09, 2019 | Men's Track & Field

Big West Championships
Dates: May 10-11 (Friday-Saturday)
Location: Pauley Track Facility - Santa Barbara, Calif.
Live Results // Meet Program // Schedule & Meet Info

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's track & field team makes its way to Santa Barbara this weekend for the Big West Championships, May 10-11. The conference meet will be held at UCSB's Pauley Track Facility.

The main events of the men's Big West Championships get underway Friday with the hammer throw at 9 a.m. The running events are then set for an afternoon start with the steeplechase at 2 p.m. On Saturday, the pole vault kicks things off at 11 a.m., while action on the track commences with the 4x100 relay at 2 p.m. The Anteaters have 16 individuals entered in 14 events, including both relays.

STORYLINES
• UC Santa Barbara is hosting the Big West Championships for the first time since 1983.
• The 'Eaters competed at UCSB's Pauley Track Facility earlier this year at the Big West Challenge on April 5.
• Jack Pickard made a statement in his debut at that meet, breaking the new javelin school record at 221-00.
• Seth Enochs earned his first career Big West Field Athlete of the Week award on May 1.
• He was recognized for his runner-up finish in the long jump at the Steve Scott Invite where he notched a PR 25-00.75.
• Enochs, who moved up to No. 4 on UCI's all-time charts, is the fourth 'Eater in program history to reach 25 feet.
• Brennan Doyle was also named the Big West Men's Track Athlete of the Week on March 26.
• He earned the honor after winning the 400m in a lifetime-best 47.76 at the UCR Spring Track Classic.
• Kyle Tsu established a season-best 57-11.25 in the shot put which ranks third among UC Irvine's all-time leaders.
• The Anteaters have a good mix of experience and youth with 15 returners and 10 newcomers.
• The 'Eaters remained in Southern California for all of their regular-season meets.
• The only time UCI will travel outside of the region is for NCAA postseason competition.
• The NCAA West Prelims are in Sacramento, while the NCAA Championships will take place in Austin, Texas.

UCI AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Since 1978, the UC Irvine men have produced 91 individual Big West titles and 13 championship relay teams.
• Last year, the 'Eaters finished seventh and had seven all-conference performers (top-three).
• Returners from that group include Asa Allen, Andres Woodruff, Paul Resong and Kyle Sandoval.
• Allen took third in the 110m hurdles and was part of the 4x100 relay team that placed second.
• Woodruff was also a member of the runner-up 4x100, as well as the 4x400 relay that came in third.
• Resong and Sandoval joined Woodruff in the 4x400.

LAST TIME OUT
• UC Irvine hosted the Steve Scott Invitational in its regular-season finale, April 26-27.
• Seth Enochs was the top collegiate finisher, and second overall in the long jump with a PR 25-00.75.
• He moved up to No. 4 in program history and was the first 'Eater to reach the 25-foot mark since 1984.
• Jack Pickard was also second in the javelin with his best toss of the day measuring 196 feet, 6 inches.
• Kyle Tsu claimed runner-up honors in the shot put at 57-05, while adding a top-10 finish in the discus (161-03).
• On the track, Asa Allen was the fastest collegian in the 110m hurdles, matching his season best at 14.43 seconds.
• Sam Ayala paced the Anteaters in the 1500m, bettering his personal record by over two seconds (3:48.85).
• Andres Woodruff had a fifth-place showing in the 400m hurdles with a lifetime-best 52.74.

NEW ERA
• Sophomore Seth Enochs earned UC Irvine's first Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Week award since 2015.
• He received the nod after recording a personal-best 25-00.75 in the long jump at the Steve Scott Invitational.
• His mark ranks second in the Big West, 18th in the West Region and 40th in all of NCAA Division I this season.
• It was the fourth-best jump in school history and was the top mark by an Anteater since Bob Rust (25-01) in 1984.
• Enochs, who is 20 years old, was born after each of the other top-10 marks were established.
• The Yucca Valley, Calif., native opened the campaign with back-to-back wins in the long jump.
• He defended his titles at the UCI Spring Break Collegiate Classic (24-07) and UCR Spring Track Classic (24-04.5).

NOW THAT'S A DEBUT
• Jack Pickard turned heads in his UC Irvine debut, winning the javelin at the Big West Challenge with a PR 221-00.
• He led wire-to-wire in the meet against conference foes, opening with a then lifetime-best 194-04.
• Pickard saw an improvement of 8 feet, 4 inches on his next toss before hitting 221-00 on his fourth and final attempt.
• The junior transfer's PR is a school record in the new javelin, and was the best mark by an 'Eater since 1984.
• A two-time JC state finalist, Pickard ranks first in the Big West, 19th in the West Region and 34th in the nation.

PATIENCE PAYS OFF
• Kyle Tsu, who sat out the 2018 campaign with an injury, made his long-awaited collegiate debut at the Beach Opener.
• On a rainy Saturday in Long Beach, he claimed runner-up honors in the shot put with a toss of 51-00.25.
• Just two weeks later, he went for a then season-best 55-02.75 to crack UCI's all-time top-10, coming in at No. 8.
• He has since climbed the charts to No. 3 in program history with a season-best 57-11.25 at the Big West Challenge.
• The redshirt freshman from Huntington Beach also owns a season-best 166-07 in the discus.
• Through nine meets, Tsu has eight top-10 finishes in the shot put and seven in the discus.

BIG WEST ACCOLADES
• Junior transfer Brennan Doyle received his first career Big West Men's Track Athlete of the Week honor on March 26.
• It was also the first weekly award won by an Anteater on the men's side since 2017.
• The Burbank, Calif., native was recognized for his performance at the UC Riverside Spring Track Classic (March 23).
• He picked up a victory in the 400m with a personal-record 47.76, and added a season-best 22.16 in the 200m.
• In his season debut, Doyle was the runner-up at the UCI Spring Collegiate Classic (48.45).
• He is also a member of UC Irvine's 4x400 relay, helping the quartet to a season-best 3:13.82.

DISTANCE LEADER
• Junior Sam Ayala has notched four personal records in four different events this year.
• His PRs in the 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 5000m are also the Anteaters' top times of the season.
• At the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, Ayala registered a lifetime-best 14:35.10 in the 5000m.
• The Norwalk, Calif., native notched an 800m personal-best 1:54.00 in a fourth-place finish at UC Riverside.
• He made his 2019 debut in the 3000m at the Beach Opener where he took third in 8:32.69.
• Two weekends ago at the Steve Scott Invite, Ayala ran the fastest 1500m in the Big West this year at 3:48.85.

UP NEXT
• The NCAA West Preliminary Round is scheduled for May 23-25 in Sacramento.