at MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships
Dates: Friday-Saturday (Feb. 21-22)
Location: The Podium - Spokane, Wash.
Meet Info

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's indoor track & field team makes its way back to The Podium in Spokane, Washington, for the 2025 MPSF Championships, Feb. 21-22. Action on both days gets underway at 10 a.m.

This will be the Anteaters' second meet at The Podium this season, while the venue is hosting the MPSF Championships for the fourth-straight year. In 2024, the 'Eaters had a program-best fourth-place conference finish. 

RECORD BREAKERS
Malia Gay picked up two event wins and broke two school records at the Riverfront Invitational in Spokane two weeks ago. Gay started the meet with a program-best 2:09.52 in the 800m before coming back 24 hours later to top the 600m standard with a lifetime-best 1:32.23. In the season opener, the Anteaters also broke the 4x400 indoor school record. Jazzmine Davis, Lauren Aquino, Ihe Okoh and Amelia Trautman clocked in at 3:47.41 to win the event at the Silver & Blue Invitational.

THE BIG THREE
Reyna Johnson, Jolie Robinson and Kailah McKenzie hold the top three long jump marks in program history. Johnson, the reigning MPSF champion, broke her own school-record with a mark of 5.97 meters (19-7) at the conference meet last year. Robinson matched Johnson with a PR 5.97m to win the long jump in the pentathlon at the Riverfront Invitational & Multis on Feb. 6. McKenzie ranks third in program history with a lifetime-best 5.93m (19-5.5), which she set at the Nevada Invitational in January.

MULTIS DEPTH
Jolie Robinson, Jazzmine Davis and Zharia Taylor are entered in their second pentathlon of the season. At the Riverfront Invitational & Multis on Feb. 6, Robinson compiled a personal-record and MPSF-leading 3,858 points to rank third in program history. Taylor also cracked UCI's all-time top-10 in her first pentathlon as an Anteater, coming in at No. 4 with 3,590 points. Jazzmine Davis sits in fifth with a lifetime-best 3,470 points which she established last year.

YEAR TWO
Sophomores Kailah McKenzie and Halle Sutherland have both set personal records in multiple events this season. Sutherland notched lifetime-bests of 7.52 in the 60m and 24.39 in the 200m at the Riverfront Invitational. Both times rank second in program history. McKenzie added PRs of 5.93m in the long jump (2nd), 1.73m in the high jump (3rd) and 8.66 seconds in the 60m hurdles (6th).

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
A quartet of newcomers have made their way into the program's all-time top-10 in their first season at UC Irvine. Junior college transfers Esmeray Demirbas and Zharia Taylor have led the way, making their presence felt across multiple events. Demirbas ran UCI's second-fastest indoor 400m with a time of 55.36 at the Riverfront Invitational two weeks ago. At the same meet, Demirbas and Taylor also cleared 1.73 meters (5-8) in the high jump to tie for third in program history. Taylor added top-10 marks in the pentathlon (3,590) and long jump (5.53m). Freshman Ihe Okoh was part of the Anteaters' school-record 4x400 relay, while clocking a lifetime-best 57.11 in the 400m at the Nevada Invitational to rank eighth in program history. Freshman Pinkie Schnayer also cracked the top-10 in the shot put in her collegiate debut at the Silver & Blue Invitational (13.28m).

MPSF ACCLAIM
Reyna Johnson was named the MPSF Women's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week on Jan. 15. Johnson was recognized for her performance at the season-opening Silver & Blue Invitational. She started the meet in the long jump where she was sixth with a leap of 5.89 meters (19-4). Her distance was three inches shy of her school record. Johnson also competed in the 60m hurdles where she finished fourth. In the prelims, the Sacramento native clocked a personal-record 8.54, which ranks third in program history. This was Johnson's second career MPSF weekly award.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Nyla Baker has paced the throws squad with a pair of top-three showings in the shot put. She won the event at the season-opening Silver & Blue Invitational before establishing a personal-record 14.36m (47-1.5) in a third-place finish at the Nevada Invitational. Nadia Combs-Mahone added a lifetime-best 14.14m (46-4.75) at the latter meet. Baker and Combs-Mahone rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in program history. Pinkie Schnayer, the 2024 CIF high school state champion in the shot put, also cracked UCI's top-10 with a toss of 13.28m (43-7), while DeAna Davis improved on her No. 7 mark in the weight throw with a PR 15.71m (51-6.5) at the Silver & Blue Invitational.

UP NEXT
Qualifying individuals and relays will make their way to Virginia for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, March 14-15. The Anteaters will also kick off the outdoor campaign, March 7-8.