UC Irvine women's cross country returns a strong core group highlighted by a pair of All-Big West performers, while bringing in 13 newcomers for the 2024 season. The Anteaters are hoping they can find the right mix to achieve their goal of a Big West title after finishing in the top half of the conference in each of the last three seasons, including a runner-up showing in 2022.
 
"We have a lot of new faces with a double-digit incoming group," sixth-year UCI distance coach Casey Kear said. "A lot of them had outstanding track & field seasons as seniors in high school so we're hoping they can come in and make an impact right away. That group will partner with a really strong foundation of women with Sameen Andar, Anna Vogtmann and several others returning who have been All-Big West athletes in the past. We could have as strong a team as we've had since I've been here."

Below are five things to know ahead of next Friday's (Sept. 6) season-opening meet at the Great Park in Irvine.
 
 
WEST REGION RANKINGS
For the second year in a row, UC Irvine is among the top-15 in the USTFCCCA Preseason West Regional Rankings. The Anteaters came in at No. 14 in the poll that was released earlier today. The 'Eaters were also 14th in last year's preseason rankings after finishing the 2022 campaign at No. 15 in the West Region.


LEADING THE PACK
Seniors Sameen Andar and Anna Vogtmann will look to lead UC Irvine to the top of The Big West in the final season of their accomplished cross country careers. Andar is a two-time all-conference performer after placing ninth at the Big West Championships in 2023 and sixth in 2022. She owns the 4K school record and has five career top-10 finishes. Vogtmann earned All-Big West distinction after taking fifth in a 6K school-record 19:52.8 at the 2022 conference meet. Last year, she garnered her first Big West Athlete of the Week award following a third-place showing at the UCR Invitational.
 
"Obviously in terms of numbers, Sameen has done a ton for our program, but she has now become such a leader for the younger group as well," Kear said. "Anna is also someone who has been fifth at the conference championship and is aiming to get back to that level this year."
 
 
RETURNING CORE
The Anteaters welcome back their top seven from last year's Big West Championships and NCAA West Regional meet. In addition to Andar and Vogtmann, senior Malia Gay is a two-time all-conference performer on the track (800m). She also had a top-20 showing at the 2023 Big West Cross Country Championships. Sophomore Kaia Schmidt is looking to build off an impressive freshman campaign in which she was among UCI's top three in four of her five races. Seniors Montgomery Allison and Olivia Liuson, and junior Makena Castillo, are also back after running at both postseason meets a year ago.
 
"We bring back our entire top seven from last year so their progress is really going to dictate how good we can be," Kear stated. "From our conversations, they had really good summers of training."
 
 
ADDING DEPTH
UC Irvine brings in 13 newcomers (11 freshmen) for the 2024 season. The Anteaters expect that group to contribute right away and add depth to the lineup of returners. Leading the way are transfers Marjourie Lopez and Nicole Contreras. Lopez, a sophomore who comes to UCI from USC, was a highly accomplished high school runner, excelling in the 3200m. Contreras also joins the 'Eaters after two years at CSUN where she was a conference scorer on the track. A few of the freshmen to look out for are Jackie Pan, Cynthia Herrera and Liana Lee.
 
"A lot of our freshmen are coming off really good track seasons," Kear said. "There are a whole bunch of them who have the potential to fight for a spot right off the bat. If I had to predict our top seven or nine, I really don't know what that's going to look like. It could shake up quite a bit based on the progress of the freshman group."
 
 
STARTING LINE
For the third time in the last four years, the Anteaters open the season with a home meet, co-hosting the Irvine Invitational with Concordia on Sept. 6. The meet will be held at the Great Park, which is where the Eagles will host the PacWest Championships in October. It is also a potential site for future Big West Championships.
 
"We're excited to partner with Concordia and the Great Park in Irvine," Kear said. "We've laid out what we think is a pretty fair course and hopefully it works out to where it can be a site we use in 2027 and beyond for the Big West Cross Country Championships."