'Eaters Set for Home Debut This Weekend

Friday, March 31

Irvine, Calif.

1:00 PM

UC Irvine

Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic

'Eaters Set for Home Debut This Weekend

March 30, 2023 | Women's Track & Field

Live Results Meet Notes

Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic
Date: Friday-Saturday (March 31-April 1)
Location: Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Tickets (Saturday Only) | Meet Schedule | Meet Program

With multiple events taking place at the UC Irvine Athletics facilities this weekend, parking at the Mesa Structure may be heavily impacted on Friday and Saturday.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine makes its home debut this weekend as it hosts the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic at Anteater Stadium, March 31-April 1. The hammer and javelin will be contested on Friday beginning at 1 p.m., while the rest of the events are slated for Saturday, starting with the long jump, shot put and pole vault at 10 a.m.

Admission is free on Friday, while ticket prices for Saturday are $10 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 6-17). Children five and under are free and UCI undergraduate students are free with ID.

NEWS & NOTES
• Nine current 'Eaters hold 16 marks that rank among the top-10 in program history with 10 being set in 2023.
• Hannah Chau broke her own school record in the steeplechase with a time of 10:20.11 at the UCSB Invitational.
• Last weekend at UCLA, Sameen Andar ran the third-fastest 5K in program history at 16:36.87.
• Deandra Tyler also moved up to No. 3 on UCI's all-time charts in the shot put with a PR 49-2.25 last Saturday.
• Tyler was named the Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week on March 7 and March 28.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine started its weekend at UCLA with the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival on Friday, March 24. Sameen Andar led the way with an eight-second personal-record 16:36.87 in the 5000m. She was third overall and moved up five spots to No. 3 in school history. Hannah Chau wasn't far behind in fourth, crossing the finish line in a lifetime-best 16:41.98, which ranks ninth among UCI's all-time leaders. Evelin Meza also clocked in at 16:54.59 for her fastest 5K as an Anteater. Montgomery Allison had a runner-up showing in the steeplechase with a PR 10:50.58. Her time is fifth in program history. Malia Gay paced a large UC Irvine contingent in the 1500m where she was 11th out of 71 with a mark of 4:32.61. The rest of the squad was in action at UCLA's Drake Stadium the following day at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational. Deandra Tyler highlighted the afternoon with a second-place performance in the shot put. She registered a personal-record 49-02.25 which puts her third in the school record books. Nyla Baker (41-05.25) and Sydney Gontang (40-07.75) also notched lifetime bests. In the high jump, Jolie Robinson cleared a personal-best 5-05, while Naiya Edwards added a season-best 5-01.

TWICE AS NICE
Junior Deandra Tyler has won two of the first four Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week awards. Most recently, she was recognized for a pair of top-five finishes at UCLA's Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational. In the shot put, Tyler claimed runner-up honors with a personal-record 49-02.25, which ranks third in program history. Her mark is also tops in The Big West this season. Tyler added a fifth-place performance in the hammer throw. The Atascadero, California, native earned her first career weekly honor on March 7 after winning the hammer throw and taking second in the shot put at the Beach Opener. Tyler unleashed a lifetime-best 173-08 to move up to No. 7 among UCI's all-time leaders in the hammer.

GOING THE DISTANCE
Graduate student Hannah Chau has picked up right where she left off in 2022 after closing out last season with a school record and runner-up finish in her second career steeplechase at the Big West Championships. In her 2023 steeple debut at the UCSB Invitational on March 11, Chau shattered her own record with a personal-best 10:20.11. She won the event by a 40-second margin and had the fastest time in The Big West since 2016. Last weekend at UCLA, sophomore Sameen Andar ran the Anteaters' third-fastest 5K with a PR 16:36.87. The duo has led a distance crew that returns all of its team-high 31 points from last year's conference meet. Chau (Steeple, 10K) and sophomore Anna Vogtmann (1500m) were All-Big West performers in 2022, while Andar, Montgomery Allison and Olivia Liuson were also conference scorers.

MAKING A MARK
Sophomore transfer Jolie Robinson has made an immediate impact at UCI, producing top-10 marks in the long jump, javelin and heptathlon. In her 'Eater debut, she registered a personal-best 19-01.25 in the LJ to tie for eighth all-time at UCI. The following weekend at the UCSB Invitational, she saw an improvement with a leap of 19-02.5 to take over sole possession of No. 8 in the record book. That performance came just two days after a runner-up finish in the heptathlon where she compiled a lifetime-best 5,025 points, which ranks eighth in program history. Her season-best 130-02 in the javelin at the Beach Opener also puts her at No. 9. During the indoor season, Robinson established a school-record 19-02 in the long jump, while she was the 2022 California Community College Athletic Association state champion in the heptathlon at Saddleback College. Sophomore Reyna Johnson, a Big West scorer in the long jump and 100H a year ago, moved up to No. 6 in program history in the long jump with a personal-record 19-03.5 on March 11.

ON THE RISE
The 'Eaters are coming off their first top-three finish at the Big West Championships since 2014. Last year they had eight podium finishes and compiled 101 points. In 2023, they bring back over 75% of their scoring including six all-conference performers.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine heads to Santa Barbara for the Challenge Cup next Friday, April 7.