IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's cross country team will head to Nipomo, California, for the 2023 Big West Championships this Friday, Oct. 27. The women's 6K race is scheduled for a 9:15 a.m. start at Blacklake Golf Resort.

Competing for the Anteaters are Tea Akiaten, Montgomery Allison, Sameen Andar, Makena Castillo, Malia Gay, Olivia Liuson, Hana Nip, Kaia Schmidt and Anna Vogtmann.

QUICK HITS
• UCI finished second at last year's Big West Championships in Riverside.
• Juniors Sameen Andar and Anna Vogtmann were all-conference performers.
• This year, Andar and Vogtmann both earned their first career Big West Athlete of the Week award.
• The 'Eaters got a sneak peek at the championship course as they ran a 5K at Blacklake Golf Resort on Sept. 1.
• Cal Poly (7th), UC Davis (9th) and LBSU (15th) were featured in the latest USTFCCCA West Region Rankings.
• UC Irvine was 14th in the USTFCCCA's preseason regional rankings released on Aug. 29.

PHOTO FINISH
Last fall, UC Irvine claimed runner-up honors at the 2022 Big West Cross Country Championships and placed among the top-15 at the NCAA West Regional meet. The Anteaters' conference finish was their highest since 2014, but it was also a heartbreaking one as they came within one point of the program's 13th Big West title. The 'Eaters (64 points), who had four individuals in the top-11 including a league-best three All-Big West performers, were edged by Cal Poly (63) in the closest finish in conference history.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Juniors Sameen Andar and Anna Vogtmann, the Anteaters' top-two runners, both earned their first career Big West Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors this season. Andar was recognized on Oct. 17 after clocking an individual and team season-best 20:06.3 at the Bronco Invitational. It was the second-fastest 6K of her career and third-fastest in the conference this year. Vogtmann received the weekly award on Sept. 19, following a career-best third-place finish at the UC Riverside Invitational. In what was her first 6K of the year, Vogtmann registered a season-best 20:19.0. Vogtmann (19:52.8) and Andar (19:57.6) are the program's only two athletes to run a sub-20-minute 6K. They established their top times at last year's Big West Championships where they earned all-conference honors.

BIG WEST DEBUT
True freshman Kaia Schmidt, who has been among the Anteaters' top-three runners in each of her three races this season, will be making her Big West debut on Friday. Two weeks ago at the Bronco Invitational, Schmidt clocked a nearly 30-second personal-record 21:04.4. Juniors Tea Akiaten, Montgomery Allison and Hana Nip will also be competing in their first Big West Championships.

40TH ANNIVERSARY
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the inaugural Big West Women's Cross Country Championship. The 1983 meet was a significant event as it was the first women's competition sponsored by the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (renamed The Big West in 1988), and the first women's sport sponsorship by a league west of the Rockies. In addition, it was significant for UC Irvine as it was the start of a dynasty. The Anteaters beat out UC Santa Barbara and UNLV for the first of their league-leading 12 conference titles. Lisa Gonzales claimed the individual championship and she was followed by teammates Susan Zika (2nd), Judy McLaughlin (3rd), Lorraine Mercado (5th) and Jennifer Abraham (7th).

UP NEXT
The NCAA West Regional is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 10, at Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento.