at Battle Born Classic
Dates: Friday-Saturday (Feb. 13-14)
Location: Reno-Sparks Convention Center - Reno, Nev.
Meet Info

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's indoor track & field team returns to Nevada for the Battle Born Classic, Feb. 13-14, at Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Twenty-three Anteaters are entered in 12 events at the two-day meet. Action gets underway at 10 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

RECORD SETTERS
UC Irvine has broken an indoor school record in each of its first three meets. Last weekend at the Wolf Pack Classic, Halle Sutherland topped UCI's 200m standard with a personal-best 24.19. She beat Olympian Persis William-Mensah's mark of 24.26 that stood as the Anteaters' best since 2018. Sutherland was named the MPSF Athlete of the Week for her effort. At the UW Invitational (Jan. 31), Emma Hadley took down a 21-year-old record in the mile with a lifetime-best 4:42.71. Kaia Schmidt also ran a PR 4:51.70 to beat the old record and rank second behind Hadley. Jazzmine Davis, Aoife Hernon, Gabrielle Hawkins, and Esmeray Demirbas opened the season with a program-record 3:45.77 in the 4x400 relay at the Spokane Indoor Challenge.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Through her first three indoor meets as an Anteater, graduate transfer Aoife Hernon ranks third in program history in the 200m and 400m, while also helping UCI to a school record in the 4x400 relay. At the Spokane Indoor Challenge, Hernon won the 400m in a lifetime-best 55.43, which put her behind only Zani Meaders (54.81) and teammate Esmeray Demirbas (55.36) on UC Irvine's all-time charts. She also ran the third-fastest 200m in program history at the Wolf Pack Classic where she clocked in at 24.47 seconds.

VAULTING TO THE TOP
All three of the Anteaters' pole vaulters have recorded a top-five mark in program history this year. Last weekend, junior Alana Sugue, who missed the 2025 campaign with an injury, cleared a personal-record 3.86 meters (12-8) to pass teammate Jessie Condliff for No. 2 in the record book. Condliff, a true freshman, reached 3.82m (12-6.25) in her collegiate debut at the Spokane Indoor Challenge to rank third. Junior college transfer Kaylee Tan, who is set to compete in her third meet, reached 3.67m (12-0.5) in the opener and 3.71m (12-2) at the Wolf Pack Classic to take sole possession of fifth among UCI's all-time leaders.

RAISING THE BAR
Five current 'Eaters occupy a spot among UC Irvine's all-time top-10 high jumpers. Zharia Taylor, who earned outdoor All-America honors in the high jump last year, owns the No. 2 mark indoors at UCI with a personal-record 1.79 meters (5-10.5) that she set in 2025. Esmeray Demirbas and Kailah McKenzie also established PRs of 1.73m (5-8) last season to tie for fourth. Joy Anderson joined the group at No. 6 after clearing 1.70m (5-7) in her collegiate debut at the Spokane Indoor Challenge on Jan. 17. Jolie Robinson rounds out the contingent at No. 10 (1.63m/5-4.25).

THROWING IT OUT THERE
At the Spokane Indoor Challenge, DeAna Davis, Nyla Baker, and Pinkie Schnayer all improved on their lifetime bests that already had them among UC Irvine's top-10 throwers. Baker won the shot put with a toss of 14.62m (47-11.75), improving on her No. 4 mark in program history. Schnayer also hit a PR 13.98m (45-10.5) to climb one spot into a tie for sixth in the school record book. In the weight throw, Davis launched a lifetime-best 16.47m (54-0.5) to claim runner-up honors and move up to No. 5 among the Anteaters' all-time leaders.
 
UP NEXT 
UC Irvine will head back to Reno in two weeks for the MPSF Championships, March 1-2.