UC Riverside Distance/Sprints Invitational
Date: April 29-30 (Thursday-Friday)
Location: UCR Track & Field Facility - Riverside, Calif.
Live Results // Meet Schedule

Long Beach Throws/Jumps Fest
Date: April 30-May 1 (Friday-Saturday)
Location: Jack Rose Track - Long Beach, Calif.
Live Results // Meet Schedule

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's track & field team is set to compete in the UC Riverside/Long Beach State Invitational split meet this week. The distance and sprints/hurdles crews make their way to Riverside, April 29-30, while the throwers and jumpers head to Long Beach, April 30-May 1.

The 'Eaters will square off against CSUN, Cal State Fullerton, CSU Bakersfield, San Diego State, UC San Diego, and hosts Long Beach State and UC Riverside. It will be the Anteaters' final tune-up before the Big West Championships.
 
QUICK HITS
• UC Irvine has one of its larger rosters in recent history with 28 returners and 26 newcomers.
• Eight 'Eaters have combined for 12 marks that rank among the program's all-time top-10 this year.
• Kayla Richardson has run the Anteaters' second-fastest 200m (23.94) and fifth-fastest 100m (11.80).
• Hannah Chau has also established UCI's fifth-best 10K (35:36.35) and eighth-best 5K (16:54.40) times.
• Brianna Villanueva bettered her No. 2 all-time mark in the hammer by two feet with a toss of 188-01 at the OC Dual.
• Tayla Crenshaw etched her name in the record books in the shot (43-03.75), discus (164-02) and hammer (173-11).
• Deandra Tyler (43-08.75) also moved up to No. 6 in program history in the shot put at the Fullerton Invitational.
• Kassidy Sani cracked the all-time top-10 in the discus last week with a lifetime-best 151-04.
• Lorraine Nance won the triple jump at the Ben Brown Invite with a PR 39-03, which ranks sixth in school history.
• Carly Johnson's PR 128-10 in the javelin is the program's eighth-best mark since the specifications changed in 1999.
• UC Irvine has two sets of siblings on its roster - Zani Meaders and Zoi Meaders, and Chaselyn Amos and Shaelyn Amos.
 
2021 BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
UC Irvine is set to host the 2021 Big West Championships, starting with the heptathlon and decathlon, May 7-8. The remainder of the events will be held the following week, May 13-15. In accordance with COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, spectators will not be allowed at Anteater Stadium for the conference championships.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine defeated Cal State Fullerton, 75-63, in the OC Dual last Thursday at Anteater Stadium. UCI won nine events en route to the team victory. On the track, Kayla Richardson was a double champion in the 100m and 200m. She ran a season-best 23.94 in the 200, which ranks second in program history. Amari Fraser swept the hurdle events, crossing the finish line first in the 100H (14.55) and 400H (63.85). Claire Livengood shaved over five seconds off her 1500m lifetime best with a winning time of 4:44.08. Fraser, Cecily Montanez, Aryel Coats and Richardson closed out the meet with a season-best 3:49.71 in the 4x400 relay to come in eight seconds ahead of the Titans. In the field events, Brianna Villanueva claimed both the hammer (188-01) and discus (160-06) titles. Natalie Koppel added an individual victory in the long jump with a season-best 19-00.5.
 
BIG WEST LEADER
Kayla Richardson has posted the top 100m and 200m times in the Big West this year. Last week, she won both events with season bests at the OC Dual. Her winning time of 23.94 in the 200m ranks second among UCI's all-time leaders as she joined 2016 Olympian Persis William-Mensah as the only two 'Eaters in school history to run a sub-24 second race. The Walnut, Calif., native also matched her season best in the 100m at 11.80 seconds, which she originally established while running into a headwind at the Jim Bush Legends Invitational. On March 30, Richardson was named the Anteaters' first Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Week since 2016. She is a graduate transfer from USC where she was a 2017 NCAA West Preliminary qualifier in the 400m, and set the Philippines' national record with a time of 53.81 at the Mt. SAC Relays.
 
BACK FOR MORE
Brianna Villanueva is making the most out of the NCAA's decision to grant an extra year of eligibility to the 2020 spring sport student-athletes who saw their season canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fifth-year senior has seven individual victories and is currently second in the Big West in the discus and hammer with a season-best 161-10 and a personal-record 188-01, respectively. Villanueva is a two-time All-Big West performer, earning the recognition with third-place finishes in both events at the 2019 conference championships. The 2021 team captain ranks second in school history in the hammer (188-01) and fourth in the discus (163-10). Cecily Montanez also returned for a fifth year and has established lifetime bests in both the 400m (57.96) and 400m hurdles (62.51). Her 400H time is No. 4 in the Big West this season.
 
TRIPLE THREAT
Junior Tayla Crenshaw is a triple threat in the shot put, discus and hammer as she ranks among UCI's all-time top-10 in each of the three events. This year, she has established lifetime-bests of 43-03.75 in the shot (8th), 164-02 in the discus (4th), and 173-11 in the hammer (6th).
 
GOING THE DISTANCE
Junior Hannah Chau is the Anteaters' top distance runner with team season bests in the 5000m and 10000m. On April 2, she established the fifth-best 10K time (35:36.25) in program history at the Sound Running Collegiate Invite, while she also ran UCI's eighth-fastest 5K (16:54.40) at the season-opening Ben Brown Invitational. As a freshman in 2019, Chau was the first 'Eater to score in both events at the Big West Championships in six years. Chau was also an All-Big West performer in cross country as a sophomore. 

UP NEXT
The Big West Championships get underway next weekend with the heptathlon and decathlon, May 7-8, while the remainder of the events will be held May 13-15.