Irvine Invitational
Date: Friday, Sept. 6
Event: Women's 6K
Time: 8 a.m.
Location: Great Park - Irvine, Calif.
*Spectator parking available in Lot 4

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's cross country team is set to open the 2024 campaign by co-hosting the Irvine Invitational with Concordia on Friday, Sept. 6. UCI has 22 student-athletes entered in the women's 6K that is scheduled for an 8 a.m. start at the Great Park.

The Anteaters are featured in the USTFCCCA Preseason West Region Rankings, coming in at No. 14. They are one of three Big West schools in the initial poll along with No. 8 Cal Poly and No. 12 UC Davis.

QUICK HITS
• For the third time in the last four years, UC Irvine will kick off the campaign with a home meet.
• This is the first time during that stretch the season-opening meet will be held off campus at the Great Park.
• The 'Eaters return their top seven from the 2023 Big West Championships and NCAA West Regional meet.
• UCI finished fifth at conference and 19th at regionals last year.
• The Anteaters bring in a large incoming group with 13 newcomers (11 freshmen).

SENIOR LEADERS
Seniors Sameen Andar and Anna Vogtmann will be looking to lead the Anteaters 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, placing ninth at the Big West Championships in 2023 and sixth in 2022. She owns the 4K school record and ranks second in program history in the 6K (19:57.6). Vogtmann also earned All-Big West distinction after taking fifth in a 6K school-record 19:52.8 at the 2022 conference meet. Over the last two seasons, UCI's top finisher has been either Andar or Vogtmann in seven of the team's eight 6K races.

COLLECTIVE EFFORT
UC Irvine has a strong core group of returners behind Andar and Vogtmann who will be key in the quest for the program's first Big West championship since 2005. Senior Malia Gay is a two-time all-conference performer on the track (800m) and 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.

ENTERING THE MIX
The Anteaters bring in a group of 13 newcomers (11 freshmen) who are expected 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 ran the sixth-fastest 6K in program history. A few of the freshmen to keep an eye on are Jackie Pan, Cynthia Herrera and Liana Lee. 

UP NEXT
UC Irvine heads to the Inland Empire for the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21. The meet will be the Anteaters' first look at the UCR Ag/Ops Course, which is the site of the 2024 Big West Championships.