NCAA West First Rounds
Dates: Thursday, May 23 & Saturday, May 25
Location: John McDonnell Field - Fayetteville, Ark.
Meet Information

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's track & field is sending three student-athletes to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the NCAA West First Round, May 22-25. All of the women's events will be contested Thursday and Saturday at John McDonnell Field on the University of Arkansas campus.
 
The top-12 finishers in each individual event will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, June 5-8, in Eugene, Oregon.
 
QUICK HITS
• The Anteaters claimed runner-up honors at the Big West Championships for their best conference finish since 1996.
• It was a close race as they were only 11.75 points behind team champion Cal Poly.
• Kailah McKenzie was tabbed the Big West Women's co-Freshman of the Year, a first for the UCI women's program.
• McKenzie won the conference title in the high jump and made her way onto the podium in the long jump (3rd).
• Deandra Tyler was the Big West runner-up in the shot put, marking her third career all-conference performance.
• Sameen Andar also secured her second-straight All-Big West honor in the 10K where she took third.
• For the second year in a row, Jolie Robinson was named the Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Meet.
• Robinson defended her title in the heptathlon, while taking second in the long jump and fifth in the javelin.
 
SAMEEN ANDAR // 10,000m // Junior // 5-2 // San Ramon, Calif. // Major: Biological Sciences
• Sameen Andar is making her second trip to the NCAA West First Round in the 10K.
• As a sophomore in 2023, Andar ran a then personal-record 33:20.89 to place 18th in the region.
• In her first 10K of the 2024 campaign, she clocked a new PR of 33:07.48 at the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 11).
• She made a 13-second improvement on her No. 2 time in UCI history and was only .38 seconds off the school record.
• Andar took home the Anteaters' first Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Week award since 2021 for her effort.
• She went on to finish third in the 10K at the Big West Championships.
• Last year, Andar was the Big West 10K champion and broke a 37-year-old 5K school record (16:13.12).
• She is also a two-time all-conference performer in cross country.
 
KAILAH MCKENZIE // High Jump // Freshman // 5-5 // Moreno Valley, Calif. // Major: Undeclared
• Kailah McKenzie was named the Big West Women's co-Freshman of the Year on May 17.
• McKenzie won the Anteaters' first conference title in the women's high jump since 2009.
• She cleared the winning height of 1.76 meters (5-9.25) on her third attempt.
• It was just shy of her personal-record 1.77m (5-9.75), which she set at the Steve Scott Invitational on April 27.
• McKenzie earned Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week honors for that performance.
• She has placed among the top-five in all six of her high jump competitions with four individual victories.
• McKenzie also garnered all-conference honors in the long jump.
• She took third at the Big West Championships with a lifetime-best 6.10m (20-0.25).
• McKenzie ranks third in school history in the high jump and fifth in the long jump.
 
DEANDRA TYLER // Shot Put // Senior // 5-7 // Atascadero, Calif. // Major: Public Health Policy
• Deandra Tyler will be making her NCAA debut this week.
• Tyler is a three-time all-conference performer as the Big West shot put runner-up in each of the last three seasons.
• Two weeks ago, she tied for first at the conference championships with a toss of 14.83m (48-8).
• The tiebreaker came down to her second best throw where she was edged out by CSUN's Emily Hutchinson.
• Tyler owns six individual victories in the shot put this year, including in her first five meets of the 2024 campaign.
• She established a season-best and NCAA qualifying mark of 15.33m (50-3.5) at the Ben Brown Invite on March 9.
• Tyler currently ranks third in program history with a personal-record 15.38m (50-5.5).