The UC Irvine women's cross country team is coming off one of its best seasons in recent years. UCI took second at the 2022 Big West 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 a Big West title. The 'Eaters (64 points), who had four individuals place among the top-11, were edged by Cal Poly (63) in the closest finish in conference history.
 
"We're hoping for redemption at the Big West Championships and will be trying to do what we couldn't quite get done last year," said 2022 Big West co-Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year Casey Kear. "It will be the same thing for the West Regional where we finished 14th last year. We're hoping to beat a couple more teams and move our way up closer to the top-10."
 
PHOTO FINISH
UC Irvine came into the 2022 Big West Championships under the radar. They weren't in the conversation of championship contenders, but the talented squad put together a great day of racing to come within a fraction of a second of the program's 13th Big West title and first since 2005. They ended up taking second by one point, which was the closest finish in conference history. UCI had the fastest team time and boasted a league-leading three All-Big West performers in Anna Vogtmann (5th), Sameen Andar (6th) and Hannah Chau (7th).
 
"The group grinded all season long, cracked the West Regional rankings for a few weeks and then just fired on all cylinders on Big West Championship day," Kear said. "Our top seven all ran personal 6K bests. Coming so close, within just a micro-second of ultimately tying and maybe winning a tiebreaker against Cal Poly has made this group really hungry. There are probably already people counting us out of being able to repeat what we did last year, but we know what we can do as a group and just need to execute and run our best races on the right day."
 
BREAKING RECORDS
The Anteaters welcome back two of their three All-Big West performers from a year ago. Anna Vogtmann broke the 6K school record at the conference meet as she placed fifth with a time of 19:52.8. Sameen Andar was right behind her in sixth, clocking in at 19:57.6 to move up to No. 2 in program history. Andar also had an outstanding track & field season, breaking a 37-year old school record in the 5000m (16:13.12), while claiming the Big West title and qualifying for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the 10K. Andar added indoor school records in the 3000m and 5000m.
 
"We had two really solid performances from Anna and Sameen last year," Kear stated. "They have just been growing since they got here and breaking all kinds of records. They are both coming into this season knowing they can run with anybody in the Big West. Their next step beyond that is getting to that regional meet and fighting for a spot at the national championships, which I think is on both of their minds and definitely something they want to do."
 
CLOSING THE GAP
UC Irvine loses two key pieces from last year's squad with the graduation of Hannah Chau and Evelin Meza. The 'Eaters will rely on a collective effort to fill those two spots. In addition to Vogtmann and Andar, UCI welcomes back sophomore Makena Castillo, who redshirted the 2022 campaign, and juniors Malia Gay, Olivia Liuson and Maggie Sczupak, all of whom were part of the team's runner-up finish at the conference meet. In her Big West debut, Sczupak clocked a 6K personal-record 21:18.6, while Liuson (21:19.6) and Gay (21:32.3) weren't far behind.
 
"One person isn't necessarily going to come in and fill the spot of Hannah Chau or Evelin Meza and what they did at the conference meet last season, but every year a couple returners come back who developed a ton over the summer months," said Kear. "We're hoping to have some of that continued progress with the returners. We should be really deep, it's just going to be about how much we can close the gap from Sameen and Anna to everybody else."
 
ADDING DEPTH
The Anteaters bring in six newcomers ahead of the 2023 season with the addition of freshmen Rebecca Bronstein, Malia Leupold, Sarahy Lopez, Kaitlene Ofilan and Kaia Schmidt, along with sophomore transfer Abby Binder. The group has impressive high school credentials and hope to make an immediate impact.
 
"Hopefully we have some freshmen who are ready to surprise us a little bit," Kear said. "I think all of our newcomers will have a chance to make an impact right away."
 
STARTING LINE
UC Irvine's 2023 season gets underway on Friday, Sept. 1, at the Big West Preview. The meet, which is hosted by Cal Poly, will give the Anteaters an early look at the Big West Championship course at Blacklake Golf Resort in Nipomo, California. The 'Eaters then make their way to the Inland Empire for the UCR Invitational (Sept. 16). After a four-week break from competition, UCI travels to Santa Clara for its second consecutive appearance in the Bronco Invitational (Oct. 14). A few individuals will stay local for the Titan Invitational in Fullerton before the Anteaters head up the coast for the Big West Championships on Friday, Oct. 27. The 'Eaters continue their postseason at the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento on Nov. 10, with qualifying teams and individuals punching their ticket to Charlottesville, Virginia, for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18.