at UCR Spring Classic Multis
Date: Thursday-Friday, March 21-22
Location: UC Riverside Track & Field Facility - Riverside, Calif.
Meet Schedule

at Aztec Invitational
Date: Friday-Saturday, March 22-23
Location: Choc Sportsman/Aztrack on the SDSU Sports Deck - San Diego, Calif.
Meet Schedule

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's track & field team is set to compete in two meets this week, starting with the UCR Spring Classic Multis, March 21-22. The heptathlon starts at 12 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday at UC Riverside. The rest of the Anteaters make their way to San Diego for the Aztec Invitational, March 22-23. The hammer (2 p.m.) and distance events (5 p.m.) will be contested on Friday, while a full day of action gets underway at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
 
QUICK HITS
• The Aztec Invitational includes 18 NCAA Division I and II teams as well as unattached and professional athletes.
• UCI had four individual victories at the Challenge Cup last Friday.
• Deandra Tyler is unbeaten in the shot put with three event wins to start the season.
• In her outdoor debut on March 9, freshman Kailah McKenzie won the high jump with a PR of 1.76 meters (5-9.25).
• Jolie Robinson (Heptathlon) & Sameen Andar (10K) are the reigning Big West champions in their respective events.
• Robinson was named the 2023 Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Year and Field Athlete of the Meet.
• Andar qualified for the NCAA First Round where she clocked a 10K personal-record 33:20.89.
• Reyna Johnson also advanced to the 2023 NCAA First Round in the long jump.
 
MULTIS DEPTH
UC Irvine returns the 2023 Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Year in junior Jolie Robinson. Robinson won the conference title in the heptathlon, while also finishing second in the long jump and seventh in the javelin at the Big West meet last season. She ranks among the top-10 in program history in all three events. UCI also brings in junior Jazzmine Davis in the multis. As a sophomore at Cerritos College, Davis was the 2023 California Community College Athletic Association state champion in the heptathlon.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine claimed runner-up honors at the Challenge Cup last Friday, March 15, in Fullerton. Deandra Tyler (Shot Put), Nyla Baker (Discus), Reyna Johnson (Long Jump) and Malia Gay (800m) all won their respective events. 
 
THREE FOR THREE
Senior Deandra Tyler is unbeaten in her first three shot put competitions, winning the event at the Challenge Cup, Ben Brown Invitational and Beach Opener. She established a season-best 15.33 meters (50-3.5) at the Ben Brown Invite on March 9. Tyler is a three-time all-conference performer in the shot put and was the Big West runner-up in each of the last two seasons. She ranks third in program history with a personal-record 15.38m (50-5.5), while she is also sixth in the hammer with a best of 54.61m (179-2), which she set at the Challenge Cup last weekend.
 
BIG TIME DEBUTS
Freshman Kailah McKenzie won the high jump in her outdoor collegiate debut at the Ben Brown Invitational. McKenzie did not miss at her first four heights, ultimately clearing a personal-record 1.76 meters (5-9.25) to rank third in program history. Last week at the Challenge Cup, McKenzie also cracked UCI's top-10 in the long jump at 5.79m (19-0). In addition, freshman Alana Sugue cleared 3.57m (11-8.5) in the pole vault in her first collegiate outdoor meet to rank seventh on the Anteaters' all-time charts.
 
TOP-TEN START
Sophomore Nyla Baker set personal bests and top-10 marks in both the shot put and discus at the Beach Opener on March 2. Baker ranks sixth in the shot put at 13.89m (45-7) and 10th in the discus at 47.55m (156-0). At the same meet, sophomore DeAna Davis established a PR 53.32m (174-11) in the hammer, which puts her seventh among UCI's all-time leaders.
 
GOING THE DISTANCE
Junior Sameen Andar is UC Irvine's top returner in the distance events. She is the reigning Big West champion in the 10K and was third in the 5K. Andar, who broke a 37-year-old 5K school record (16:13.12) last season, opened the 2024 campaign with a time of 16:20.76 in a fourth-place showing at the Ben Brown Invitational. Junior Malia Gay, who earned 2023 All-Big West honors in the 800m, ran a season-best 2:10.59 to win the event at the Challenge Cup on March 15.
 
AT A GLANCE
The Anteaters welcome back 35 letterwinners from last year's team that finished fourth at the Big West Championships. They return nearly 70% of their conference scoring from 2023, including both of their Big West champions in Jolie Robinson (Heptathlon) and Sameen Andar (10K). UCI also brings in 18 newcomers who will add depth to the already solid foundation that has been built.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will host the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic at Anteater Stadium, March 29-30.