at Beach Opener
Date: Friday-Saturday (March 6-7)
Location: Jack Rose Track - Long Beach, Calif.
Meet Info & Schedule

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's track & field kicks off the 2026 outdoor campaign this weekend at the Beach Opener, March 6-7. The hammer and javelin will be contested on Friday beginning at 11 a.m., while the remainder of the events are scheduled for a 10 a.m. start on Saturday. Twenty-five Anteaters are entered in 10 events at Long Beach State's Jack Rose Track.

QUICK HITS
• The Anteaters won the 2025 Big West Championship and 2026 MPSF Indoor Championship.
• UCI returns 19 conference scorers who combined for 103.5 of last year's winning point total of 150.5.
• UC Irvine also welcomes back seven NCAA First Round qualifiers, including All-American Zharia Taylor.

AT A GLANCE
UC Irvine had been on the rise for several years, building up to the ultimate goal of winning the program's first Big West Championship. In a complete team performance, that goal came to fruition last season. 

"Our women's team has all the tools to be as successful as they were a year ago," head coach Jeff Perkins said. "It will come down to consistency and keeping everyone healthy. It should be a great year for them."

The year has already gotten off to a great start as the 'Eaters won their first MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championship this past weekend in Reno, Nevada. They set three school records, had 12 podium finishes with two individual titles, and scored a program-best 132.5 points.
 
MULTIS
UC Irvine returns its two conference scorers in the multis. Senior Jolie Robinson, who won the Big West heptathlon title in 2023 and 2024, claimed runner-up honors last year, while senior Jazzmine Davis finished fifth. They both set personal bests that rank among the top-three in program history. Entering the mix is freshman Joy Anderson, who has already made an impact as the 2026 MPSF champion in the pentathlon.

JUMPS
The Anteaters have built an impressive contingent in the jumps where they scored 23.5 points at the 2025 Big West Championships. UCI welcomes back all three of its conference scorers and NCAA West First Round qualifiers in the high jump - senior Zharia Taylor (2nd), senior Esmeray Demirbas (3rd), and junior Kailah McKenzie (T4th). Taylor advanced to the NCAA Championships where she earned second-team All-America honors. McKenzie and Jolie Robinson also competed in the long jump at the NCAA regional meet. The 'Eaters will be a threat in the pole vault this year as well with the addition of freshman Jessie Condliff and junior transfer Kaylee Tan, along with the return of junior Alana Sugue, who missed last season with an injury.

THROWS
UCI returns its four Big West scorers in the throwing events. DeAna Davis is back for her senior season after claiming runner-up honors in the hammer at the 2025 conference meet. Davis set a personal-record 57.65m (189-1), which ranks second in school history and earned her a spot in the NCAA West First Round. Senior Nyla Baker scored in both the discus (4th) and shot put (6th), while sophomore Pinkie Schnayer added a fourth-place showing in the shot put in her Big West Championship debut.

SPRINTS & HURDLES
Junior Halle Sutherland and senior Samantha Bartz will lead the way in the short sprints. Sutherland enters the year ranked second in program history in the 200m and third in the 100m. She is a conference scorer in both events. Bartz is also fourth on UCI's all-time charts in the 100m and 200m. Graduate transfer Aoife Hernon adds depth in the 400m. Reigning Big West champion Jazzmine Davis and conference runner-up Esmeray Demirbas return in the 400m hurdles. They both qualified for the NCAA West First Round and rank among the Anteaters' all-time top-three. In addition, Davis is third in school history in the 100H, and is coming off an individual title in the 60H at the MPSF Indoor Championships.

DISTANCE
Juniors Kaia Schmidt and Emma Hadley will anchor a young distance crew. Schmidt is a returning conference scorer after tying for second in the steeplechase and placing fifth in the 5000m at the Big West Championships a year ago. Hadley, who spent the last two seasons at Colorado, has already made her presence felt at UCI as she broke the Anteaters' indoor school record in the mile.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make the short trip to Cal State Fullerton for the Ben Brown Invitational, March 12-13.