2024 Big West Track & Field Championships
Date: Friday-Saturday (May 10-11)
Location: Miller & Capriotti Athletics Complex - San Luis Obispo, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's track & field team makes its way to San Luis Obispo for the 2024 Big West Championships, May 10-11. The field events are slated for a 10 a.m. start, while action on the track gets underway at 1 p.m. both days at Cal Poly's Miller & Capriotti Athletics Complex. ESPN+ will broadcast the championship meet with live coverage starting at 1 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. on Saturday.
 
QUICK HITS
• The Anteaters scored 14 points at the Big West Multi-Event Championships in San Luis Obispo last weekend.
• Jolie Robinson defended her title in the heptathlon, winning the event with a season-best 5,220 points.
• Jazzmine Davis also came in fifth with a personal-record 5,085 points, which ranks ninth in school history.
• UCI claimed four Big West weekly awards this season, three of which were Field Athlete of the Week honors.
• Kailah McKenzie received the recognition for her PR 1.77m (5-9.75) in the high jump at the Steve Scott Invitational.
• Reyna Johnson earned the nod after a PR 6.14m (20-1.75) in the long jump at the Vince O'Boyle Classic.
• Jolie Robinson also won it on March 26 following her victory in the heptathlon at the UCR Spring Classic Multis.
• Sameen Andar was named The Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Week on April 16.
• Andar was recognized after clocking a PR 33:07.48 in the 10K at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
• Seventeen current 'Eaters hold 27 marks that rank among the top-10 in program history with 16 being set in 2024.
 
BIG WEST REWIND
The Anteaters' roster features 34 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 individual champions in Jolie Robinson (Heptathlon) and Sameen Andar (10K). UCI also brought in 18 newcomers who have added depth to the already solid foundation that has been built. The 'Eaters have placed among the top-four in each of the last three years, but are still looking for their first conference team title. The program has a high finish of second on six occasions, with the last runner-up showing coming in 1996.
 
MULTIS DEPTH
Junior Jolie Robinson defended her title in the heptathlon at the 2024 Big West Multi-Event Championships, May 3-4, at Miller & Capriotti Athletics Complex. Robinson was sixth after Friday's action, but with two of her stronger events (long jump and javelin) on day two, she rose to the top of the standings with a season-best 5,220 points. She is the Anteaters' first two-time Big West champion in the heptathlon. The Mission Viejo native is the reigning Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Year and Field Athlete of the Meet, while her personal-record 5,343 points from the 2023 conference championship ranks fifth in program history. Junior Jazzmine Davis also took fifth in the heptathlon last weekend with a lifetime-best 5,085 points, which moved her up one spot to No. 9 on UC Irvine's all-time charts. Davis (2023 at Cerritos College) and Robinson (2022 at Saddleback College) both won the California Community College Athletic Association state championship in the heptathlon prior to their arrival at UCI.
 
LEADING THE PACK
Junior Sameen Andar took home UC Irvine's first Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Week award since 2021 after running a 10K personal-record 33:07.48 at the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 11). She made a 13-second improvement on her No. 2 time in program history and was only .38 seconds off the school record set by Beth McGrann back in 1989. Andar, the reigning Big West women's 10K champion, ranks first in the conference, 12th in the region and 31st in the nation this season. The San Ramon, California, native, who broke a 37-year-old 5K school record (16:13.12) in 2023, opened the 2024 campaign with a time of 16:20.76 at the Ben Brown Invitational. It is the third-fastest time in The Big West this season.
 
GOING FOR GOLD
Senior Deandra 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. In 2024, she went unbeaten in her first five shot put competitions, winning the event at the Vince O'Boyle Classic, Aztec Invitational, Challenge Cup, Ben Brown Invitational and Beach Opener. She then closed out the regular season with her sixth individual victory at the Steve Scott Invitational. The Atascadero, California, native established a season-best 15.33 meters (50-3.5) at the Ben Brown Invite on March 9. That mark leads The Big West and ranks 46th in the region. Tyler is currently 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 on March 15.
 
THE BIG THREE
Junior Reyna Johnson, freshman Kailah McKenzie and junior Jolie Robinson hold three of the top-seven long jump marks in The Big West this season. Johnson, a 2023 NCAA First Round qualifier, set a personal-record 6.14m (20-1.75) at the Vince O'Boyle Classic to lead the conference. McKenzie is third with a wind-aided PR 6.03m (19-9.5), while Robinson is seventh with a season-best 5.88m (19-3.5). The trio also rank third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in program history.

MID-DISTANCE DUO
Junior Malia Gay ran an 800m personal-record 2:08.79 at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 12. That time is tops in the conference and ranks fifth in school history. She won the event at both the Challenge Cup and Vince O'Boyle Classic. Last year, Gay made her way onto the podium with a third-place finish in the 800m at the Big West Championships. Senior Alexis Alexander was also a 2023 conference scorer, clocking a lifetime-best 2:09.09 to come in fourth. That time is seventh among UCI's all-time top-10, while her 2024 season-best 2:12.39 is fifth in the Big West.
 
TWO-SPORT ATHLETE
Sophomore Emilie Castagna is entered in the 800m at this weekend's Big West Championships. Castagna made her track & field debut at the Steve Scott Invitational where she finished second in the 800m Open with a conference qualifying time of 2:15.55. Castagna is a member of the UCI women's soccer team that won the 2022 and 2023 Big West Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Third Round both years. In the fall, the 5-foot-5 forward was named the Big West Championship MVP.
 
FIRST YEAR IMPACT
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 come in at No. 3 in program history. She topped that performance in the regular-season finale, winning the event at the Steve Scott Invitational with a mark of 1.77m (5-9.75). McKenzie enters the Big West Championships ranked first in the conference.
 
MORE FROM THE FRESHMEN
Freshman Alana Sugue cracked UCI's all-time top-10 in the pole vault in her first collegiate outdoor meet before clearing personal-bests of 3.72m (12-2.5) at the Vince O'Boyle Classic and 3.76m (12-4) at the Steve Scott Invitational to move up to No. 3 in program history. Freshman Hallena Sutherland also won the VOB Classic 100m in a then lifetime-best 11.81 seconds, which is sixth among UCI's all-time leaders. She saw an improvement with a time of 11.77 at the Beach Invitational (April 13), which came two days after a wind-aided PR 11.50 at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate. Her 11.50 is the second-fastest 100m in the conference this season.
 
IN THE TOP-10
On March 29, junior Jazzmine Davis clocked a 100m hurdle season-best 13.78 to land at No. 5 among the Anteaters' all-time leaders. Junior Reyna Johnson is also seventh with a personal-record 13.91 that she ran at the Steve Scott Invitational (April 27). Sophomore Samantha Bartz ranks seventh in the 100m after a personal-best 11.81 at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate. In the throws, sophomore Nyla Baker set lifetime bests and top-10 marks in both the shot put (13.89m/45-7) and discus (47.55m/156-0) at the Beach Opener on March 2. At the same meet, sophomore DeAna Davis established a PR 53.32m (174-11) in the hammer, which puts her seventh in program history. In addition, junior Jolie Robinson's personal-best 42.78m (140-4) in the javelin at the Challenge Cup is tied for sixth.
 
UP NEXT
Qualifying individuals and relay teams will compete in the NCAA First Round (West Region) at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas, May 22-25.