UCI Hosts Steve Scott Invitational This Weekend

Friday, April 28

Irvine, Calif.

12:00 PM

UC Irvine

Steve Scott Invitational

nyla-baker-wtrack-2023-steve-scott-preview

Photo by: Robert Huskey

UCI Hosts Steve Scott Invitational This Weekend

April 27, 2023 | Women's Track & Field

Tickets Live Results Meet Program Meet Schedule Meet Notes

Steve Scott Invitational
Date: Friday-Saturday (April 28-29)
Location: Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Tickets: Adults $10, Youth (Ages 6-17) $6
Clear Bag Policy & Stadium Info

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine track & field is set to host the Steve Scott Invitational in its final regular-season meet, April 28-29, at Anteater Stadium. Action gets underway Friday with the hammer throw at 12 p.m., while the distance events will run in the evening, beginning with the steeplechase at 6:45 p.m. The teams and athletes return to competition on Saturday with a full slate of events starting at 11 a.m.

The 'Eaters will hold their Senior Day ceremony Saturday at 4:15 p.m. when they recognize Hannah Chau, Amari Fraser, Nikki Fulcomer, Claire Livengood, Evelin Meza, McKenna Paulson and Cathy Salazar-Gasca.

The two-day meet will feature student-athletes from 21 colleges and universities. There are 11 Division I programs (six Big West), five Division II institutions, one NAIA school, two junior colleges and two Canadian universities represented in the field. There are also athletes entered from various clubs along with international athletes from Australia, Brazil and Zambia.

STARTING LINE
• Sixteen current 'Eaters hold 27 marks that rank among the top-10 in program history with 21 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.
• Sameen Andar ran the second-fastest 10K (33:34.13) two weeks ago at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
• Earlier in the season at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, Andar notched the third-best 5K time at 16:36.87.
• Deandra Tyler also established top-10 marks in the shot put (3rd) and hammer (6th) this year.
• Tyler was named the Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week on March 7 and March 28.
• Reyna Johnson became the third Anteater to reach the 20-foot mark in the long jump at the Beach Invite (20-01).

LAST TIME OUT
Amari Fraser and Deandra Tyler combined for four event wins to lead UC Irvine last Thursday at the Battle in the OC on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. Fraser was a double-champion in the hurdles. She finished ahead of the pack in the 400H in a personal-record 60.71 to rank 10th in program history. She also ran a season-best 14.10 to claim the 100H title. Tyler took first in both the hammer and shot put. Her meet-record 173-06 in the hammer was just over a foot shy of her PR that is sixth in school history. DeAna Davis added a runner-up finish with a lifetime-best 161-09 to crack UCI's all-time top-10, while Sydney Gontang also notched a personal-best 155-11. Tyler went on to earn her fourth shot put victory of the season with a toss of 48-09. Nadia Combs-Mahone took third at 43-03, which is tied with Nyla Baker for 10th in program history. Baker also joined the Anteaters' all-time leaders in the discus as she unleashed a nine-foot personal-record of 151-02. In the high jump, Naiya Edwards cleared a PR 5-01.25.

ELITE COMPANY
Sophomore Reyna Johnson had a big personal record in the long jump at the Beach Invitational on April 15. After fouling on her first attempt, Johnson registered a leap of 20-01 (6.12m), which stood as the fourth-best of the meet and third among collegiate athletes. Her Big West-leading mark also moved her up three spots to No. 3 on UCI's all-time charts. Johnson is the third Anteater in program history, and first since Marieke Veltman's school-record 21-00.5 in 1992, to reach the 20-foot mark. Johnson, a Big West scorer in two events a year ago, also won the long jump at the Challenge Cup on April 7 (19-02.75).

DOUBLE CHAMP
Senior Amari Fraser was a double champion at the Battle in the OC last Thursday, April 20. Fraser started the evening in the 100m hurdles where she came in ahead of the pack in a season-best 14.10 seconds. Just over an hour later, she clocked a personal-record 60.71 to win the 400m hurdles. Her time ranks 10th in program history. At the Beach Invitational (April 15), Fraser also teamed up with Mia Marquez, Lauren Aquino and Alexis Alexander to run UCI's fourth-fastest 4x400 relay at 3:43.21.

BREAKING BARRIERS
Graduate student Hannah Chau 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.

GOING THE DISTANCE
Sophomore distance runner Sameen Andar has added a pair of top-three marks in program history. Most recently, she won Section 2 of the 10,000-meter at the Bryan Clay Invitational in 33:34.13 to climb to No. 2 on UCI's all-time charts. Andar also ran the Anteaters' third-fastest 5K with a PR 16:36.87 at UCLA on March 24. Overall, the distance crew is solid across the board, returning all of its team-high 31 points from last year's conference meet. Chau (Steeple, 10K) and sophomore Anna Vogtmann (1500m) were 2022 All-Big West performers, while Andar, Montgomery Allison and Olivia Liuson were also conference scorers.

800 SPEED
Junior Alexis Alexander and sophomore Malia Gay have joined graduate student Emma McCarthy among UC Irvine's all-time leaders in the 800m. At the Bryan Clay Invitational, Alexander clocked a personal-best 2:09.28 to rank eighth in program history, while Gay, who finished first out of 144 athletes in the Open section, is ninth at 2:09.37. McCarthy was the Big West runner-up in 2022 when she ran UCI's sixth-fastest 800m at 2:09.17. In 2023, the 'Eaters own four of the top-10 marks in the conference with Alexander and Gay ranking first and second, respectively. McCarthy (2:11.03) is also sixth, while Cathy Salazar-Gasca (2:11.06) is seventh.

MAKING A MARK
Sophomore transfer Jolie Robinson has made an immediate impact, 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 topped that performance with a leap of 19-02.5 to take over sole possession of No. 8 in the record book. At the Mt. SAC Relays, she saw another slight improvement at 19-02.75. The Mission Viejo native also notched a personal-best 134-10 in the javelin at Mt. SAC, which puts her at No. 9. She went on to finish the Mt. SAC Heptathlon Elite with 5,074 points to rank eighth in program history and second in the Big West this year. During the indoor season, Robinson set a school-record 19-02 in the long jump. Prior to her arrival at UC Irvine, she was the 2022 California Community College Athletic Association state champion in the heptathlon at Saddleback College.

TWICE AS NICE
Junior Deandra Tyler won two of the first four Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week awards. On March 28, she was recognized for a pair of top-five finishes at UCLA's Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational, highlighted by a runner-up performance in the shot put with a then personal-record 49-02.25. The Atascadero, California, native earned her first career weekly honor on March 7 after taking first in the hammer throw and second in the shot put at the Beach Opener. Tyler also owns four shot put victories on the season, winning the event at the Battle in the OC, Challenge Cup, UCSB Invitational and at the Vince O'Boyle Classic where she established a PR 49-03.5, which ranks third in program history and is second in The Big West this season. At the Beach Invite, she unleashed a lifetime-best 175-04 in the hammer to move up one spot to No. 6 among UCI's all-time top-10.

MORE FROM THE THROWS
In addition to Tyler, the throws squad has combined for five more marks that rank among the top-10 in school history. In the shot put, junior Cassious Fiaui (43-04.25) is ninth, while freshmen Nadia Combs-Mahone (43-03) and Nyla Baker (43-03) are tied for 10th. Baker also owns the 10th-best throw in the discus at 151-02, and freshman DeAna Davis is 10th in the hammer at 161-09.

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
The Big West Championships get underway with the heptathlon, May 5-6, while the main events are set to take place, May 12-13. Both weekends of competition will be held at Titan Track Complex on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.