at Challenge Cup
Date: Friday, April 7
Time: 12 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Pauley Track & Field Facility - Santa Barbara, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine makes its way to Santa Barbara for the Challenge Cup this Friday, April 7. The Anteaters will square off against Big West foes Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and host UCSB. The one-day meet is slated for an afternoon start with the field events kicking things off at 12 p.m. and action on the track getting underway at 3 p.m.
 
STARTING LINE
• Nine current 'Eaters hold 17 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.
• At the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, Sameen Andar ran the third-fastest 5K in program history at 16:36.87.
• Deandra Tyler also established top-10 marks in the shot put (3rd) and hammer (7th) this year.
• Tyler was named the Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week on March 7 and March 28.
• The Anteaters took third as a team while picking up five event wins at the 2022 Challenge Cup in Long Beach.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine had two event wins in its home debut at the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic, March 31-April 1. Deandra Tyler earned her second shot put victory of the season. Tyler led wire-to-wire, opening with a mark of 47-01. She saw an improvement on her third attempt in Flight 2 before starting the finals with a personal-record 49-03.5. Nyla Baker was also eighth with a lifetime-best 41-07. The Anteaters produced the top-four marks in the 1500m. Cathy Salazar-Gasca led the way with a personal-best 4:28.56 for the individual victory. Hannah Chau claimed runner-up honors with a PR 4:29.09, and Anna Vogtmann took third in a season-best 4:31.93. Evelin Meza clocked a personal-record 4:32.29 to round out the quartet. In her first collegiate 400m race, Malia Gay ran a lifetime-best 56.88 to finish second overall. Alexis Alexander added a third-place showing with a personal-best 57.10. Jolie Robinson also notched a PR 133-03 in the javelin. Her mark ranks ninth in program history (since 1999).
 
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. In the shot put, Tyler claimed runner-up honors with a then personal-record 49-02.25, while she added a fifth-place performance in the hammer throw. 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 unleashed a lifetime-best 173-08 to move up to No. 7 among UCI's all-time leaders in the hammer. She also owns two shot put victories on the season, winning the event at the UCSB Invitational and at the Vince O'Boyle Classic where she established a PR 49-03.5, which leads the Big West and ranks third in program history.
 
GOING THE DISTANCE
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. At UCLA, sophomore Sameen Andar ran the Anteaters' third-fastest 5K with a PR 16:36.87. The distance crew is solid across the board as it returns 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.
 
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 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 personal-best 133-03 in the javelin at the Vince O'Boyle Classic also puts her at No. 9. During the indoor season, Robinson set 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 100H and long jump a year ago, moved up to No. 6 in program history in the latter event 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 has a busy week ahead with the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 12-14), Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (April 13), Beach Invitational (April 14-15) and the Mt. SAC Relays (April 14-15) on the docket.