Saturday, January 31
Seattle, Wash.
9:00 AM
UC Irvine
at
UW Invitational
UCI Returns to Action at the UW Invitational This Weekend
January 30, 2026 | Women's Indoor Track
at UW Invitational
Dates:Β Saturday, Jan. 31
Location:Β Dempsey Indoor - Seattle, Wash.
Meet Info
IRVINE, Calif. -Β The UC Irvine women's indoor track & field team will compete in the mile at the UW Invitational in Seattle on Saturday, Jan. 31. The first race is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Dempsey Indoor. Eleven Anteaters are entered in the meet - Grace Baxter, Makena Castillo, Nicole Contreras, Emma Hadley, Arden Keeton, Liana Lee, Marjourie Lopez, Rachel Moen, Daisy Penney, Kaia Schmidt, and Anna Soares.
This will be the 2026 indoor season debut for UCI's distance crew, who claimed runner-up honors at the Big West Cross Country Championships in the fall. Schmidt is the Anteaters' top returner after earning All-Big West distinctionΒ in both outdoor track and cross country in 2025. She also moved up to No. 3 in indoor school history in the mile (4:57.72) last year. Castillo, Hadley, and Contreras add experience and leadership to an otherwise young group.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine started the season strong with a school record and three event wins at the Spokane Indoor Challenge on Jan. 17. In the final event of the meet, Jazzmine Davis, Aoife Hernon, Gabrielle Hawkins, and Esmeray Demirbas combined for a program-best 3:45.77 in the 4x400 relay. The quartet topped UCI's previous standard by two seconds. Earlier in the day, Hernon, who was making her 'Eater debut, finished ahead of the pack in the 400m. She clocked in at 55.43, which put her at No. 3 among the Anteaters' all-time leaders. Davis also won the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.71 seconds. In the throws, Nyla Baker improved on her No. 4 mark in school history with a toss of 14.62 meters (47-11.75) to claim the shot put title. Pinkie Schnayer finished third with a lifetime-best 13.98m (45-10.5) to move up one spot into a tie for sixth in the record books. DeAna Davis secured runner-up honors in the weight throw, launching a personal-best 16.47m (54-0.5). She now ranks fifth in program history. Jessie Condliff also took second in the pole vault in her collegiate debut. Condliff cleared 3.82m (12-6.25) to sit at No. 2 on UC Irvine's all-time charts.Β
AT FIRST GLANCE
UC Irvine welcomes back 22 letterwinners, including 10 MPSF scorers from last year's team that finished sixth at the conference meet. All but 10 members of UCI's 35-woman roster competed during the 2025 outdoor season when they won the program's first Big West Championship. The 'Eaters also bring in four transfers and four true freshmen, who will add depth across all event areas.
"Right now, we're a complete team with balance and depth across every event area," head coach Jeff Perkins said. "I'm really excited about the indoor season - our overall strength will put a number of school records well within reach."
Β
UP NEXTΒ
UC Irvine will make the first of three trips to Reno, Nevada, next weekend where it will compete in the Wolf Pack Classic, Feb. 6-7.
Dates:Β Saturday, Jan. 31
Location:Β Dempsey Indoor - Seattle, Wash.
Meet Info
IRVINE, Calif. -Β The UC Irvine women's indoor track & field team will compete in the mile at the UW Invitational in Seattle on Saturday, Jan. 31. The first race is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Dempsey Indoor. Eleven Anteaters are entered in the meet - Grace Baxter, Makena Castillo, Nicole Contreras, Emma Hadley, Arden Keeton, Liana Lee, Marjourie Lopez, Rachel Moen, Daisy Penney, Kaia Schmidt, and Anna Soares.
This will be the 2026 indoor season debut for UCI's distance crew, who claimed runner-up honors at the Big West Cross Country Championships in the fall. Schmidt is the Anteaters' top returner after earning All-Big West distinctionΒ in both outdoor track and cross country in 2025. She also moved up to No. 3 in indoor school history in the mile (4:57.72) last year. Castillo, Hadley, and Contreras add experience and leadership to an otherwise young group.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine started the season strong with a school record and three event wins at the Spokane Indoor Challenge on Jan. 17. In the final event of the meet, Jazzmine Davis, Aoife Hernon, Gabrielle Hawkins, and Esmeray Demirbas combined for a program-best 3:45.77 in the 4x400 relay. The quartet topped UCI's previous standard by two seconds. Earlier in the day, Hernon, who was making her 'Eater debut, finished ahead of the pack in the 400m. She clocked in at 55.43, which put her at No. 3 among the Anteaters' all-time leaders. Davis also won the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.71 seconds. In the throws, Nyla Baker improved on her No. 4 mark in school history with a toss of 14.62 meters (47-11.75) to claim the shot put title. Pinkie Schnayer finished third with a lifetime-best 13.98m (45-10.5) to move up one spot into a tie for sixth in the record books. DeAna Davis secured runner-up honors in the weight throw, launching a personal-best 16.47m (54-0.5). She now ranks fifth in program history. Jessie Condliff also took second in the pole vault in her collegiate debut. Condliff cleared 3.82m (12-6.25) to sit at No. 2 on UC Irvine's all-time charts.Β
AT FIRST GLANCE
UC Irvine welcomes back 22 letterwinners, including 10 MPSF scorers from last year's team that finished sixth at the conference meet. All but 10 members of UCI's 35-woman roster competed during the 2025 outdoor season when they won the program's first Big West Championship. The 'Eaters also bring in four transfers and four true freshmen, who will add depth across all event areas.
"Right now, we're a complete team with balance and depth across every event area," head coach Jeff Perkins said. "I'm really excited about the indoor season - our overall strength will put a number of school records well within reach."
Β
UP NEXTΒ
UC Irvine will make the first of three trips to Reno, Nevada, next weekend where it will compete in the Wolf Pack Classic, Feb. 6-7.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Pole Vault
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Throws
/ Women's Indoor Track
Pentathlon
/ Women's Indoor Track
Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Sprints
/ Women's Indoor Track
Sprints
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor Track
Throws
/ Women's Indoor Track
Distance
/ Women's Indoor TrackAnteater Spotlights | Ep. 6 | Zharia Taylor
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