Results

SEATTLE - The UC Irvine women's indoor track & field team opened the 2020 season with a handful of top-five finishes at the UW Preview Saturday at Dempsey Indoor.
 
Senior Brianna Villanueva led the Anteaters with a fourth-place showing in the weight throw. The Atascadero, Calif., native had an impressive day as she surpassed 54 feet on five of her six attempts. She recorded a then personal-best 56-02.5 in the second round of Flight 2 to move on to the finals where she topped that mark with a toss of 58-01.25. Villanueva, who ranks second in school history, was just over three inches shy of the record set by former teammate Barbara Coward last year.
 
On the track, senior Mychal Robinson matched her lifetime best of 8.61 seconds to finish fifth in the 60m hurdle final. Robinson saw an improvement from her semifinal race where she had the fifth-fastest qualifying time (8.65).

Sophomore Zani Meaders took fifth in the 400m at 56.02 seconds. That would have been a school record if she didn't already hold the top mark (55.78). Junior Sha'Maya Flanagan, who redshirted last year, recorded UCI's seventh-fastest indoor 400m in her Anteater debut. Flanagan was 11th overall with a time of 57.45.
 
Sophomore Hannah Chau ran the ninth-fastest mile in school history, crossing the finish line in 5:10.87. Freshman Cathy Salazar-Gasca also clocked in at 5:17.05 in her indoor debut.
 
Freshman Tess Mathes made her way into UC Irvine's all-time top-10 in both the 600m and 800m in her first collegiate meet. Mathes posted times of 1:40.94 (7th) in the 600m and 2:18.24 (8th) in the 800m. Junior Kayla Rodriguez also competed in the 600m (1:44.63).
 
Junior Natalie Koppel placed 10th out of 34 in the long jump (17-07). Senior Je'Neal Ainsworth led a trio of 'Eaters in the triple jump, coming in 15th with a leap of 36-02.25. Sophomore Lorraine Nance (35-01.25) and Hanna Coloma (35-01) rounded out the group. Senior Elizabeth Akindele also took 16th in the shot put (42-00.75).
 
UC Irvine will be back in action next weekend, traveling to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Collegiate Invitational, Jan. 24-25.