UC Irvine Set for Triton Invitational

Friday, April 3

La Jolla, CA

9:00 AM

UC Irvine

Triton Invitational

emma-hadley-wtrack-2026-triton-invite-preview

UC Irvine Set for Triton Invitational

April 02, 2026 | Women's Track & Field

Live Results Meet Notes

Triton Invitational
Date: Friday-Saturday (April 3-4)
Location: Triton Track & Field Stadium - La Jolla, Calif.
Meet Info | Meet Schedule

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's track & field is on the road this week, traveling south to La Jolla for the Triton Invitational, April 3-4. The two-day meet will be held at Triton Track & Field Stadium with a 9 a.m. start on Friday and Saturday. Forty-two Anteaters are entered in 15 events.

LAST TIME OUT
The 'Eaters hosted the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic in their home debut last weekend. On Friday, Giselle Rodriguez led the way with a wire-to-wire victory in the javelin. She saw an improvement in each of her preliminary rounds, finishing with a personal and meet-record 48.38m (158-8). Rodriguez moved up one spot to No. 2 in program history. In her first career outdoor triple jump competition, Kailah McKenzie established the No. 4 mark in school history with a leap of 12.28m (40-3.5). Alana Sugue also won the pole vault with a lifetime-best 3.78m (12-4.75), which ranks third all-time at UCI. On the track, Emma Hadley topped the 800m field in a personal-best 2:07.73, while Kaia Schmidt was the runner-up with a PR 2:09.14. Hadley and Schmidt rank sixth and 10th, respectively, among the Anteater leaders. Halle Sutherland matched her wind-legal personal-record at 11.61 seconds in the 100m. Her time sits fourth on UC Irvine's career charts. Nyla Baker was a double champion, defending her title in the shot put and finishing first in the discus.

SPRINTING TO THE TOP
Through their first three meets of the season, UC Irvine's sprinters have established five individual top-10 marks and a school record in the 4x400 relay. Junior transfer Catalina Teran made a statement in her Anteater debut, running the second-fastest 200m in program history with a time of 23.61 at the Beach Opener on March 7. She also took over the fifth spot in the 100m record book with a lifetime-best 11.64 at the Ben Brown Invitational (March 13). Teran was just behind senior Samantha Bartz, who clocked in at 11.60 to move up to No. 3 in school history. Bartz added a 200m PR of 23.97, which is fifth among the Anteaters' career leaders. In the 400m, graduate transfer Aoife Hernon ran a time of 54.40 in her outdoor season debut to rank second all-time at UCI. Junior Halle Sutherland is among the top-four in both the 100m (11.61) and 200m (23.69) with personal records that she established last year. Hernon, Teran, Esmeray Demirbas, and Mikah Longcob also combined to run a school-record 3:40.83 in the 4x400 relay at Cal State Fullerton.

DISTANCE DUO
Juniors Kaia Schmidt and Emma Hadley led UC Irvine's distance crew through the cross country and indoor track & field seasons, and they have continued to do the same during the outdoor campaign. In their season debuts at the Aztec Coastal Classic (March 13), Schmidt ran a personal-record 10:34.23 in the steeplechase to rank second in program history, while Hadley was the individual champion in the 1500m with a lifetime-best 4:22.34 that puts her at No. 6 on UCI's all-time charts. Last week at the Vince O'Boyle Classic, Hadley (2:07.73) and Schmidt (2:09.14) both clocked personal-bests in the 800m to rank sixth and 10th, respectively, in school history. Schmidt is a 2025 All-Big West performer in both cross country and outdoor track, while Hadley broke the indoor school record in the mile earlier this year.

THROWING IT OUT THERE
UCI has already set a top-five mark in school history in three of the four throwing events. Junior transfer Giselle Rodriguez kicked off her Anteater career with a personal-record 46.62m (152-11) at the Beach Opener to rank third among UCI's all-time javelin leaders. She topped her PR last week at the Vince O'Boyle Classic with a winning throw of 48.38m (158-8) to move up one spot to No. 2. Senior DeAna Davis improved on her No. 2 distance in the hammer with a lifetime-best 57.66m (189-2) at the Ben Brown Invitational. She is just over seven feet shy of the school record. Sophomore Pinkie Schnayer also moved up to fifth in school history in the shot put at 14.94m (49-0.25).

RAISING THE BAR
The 'Eaters have built an impressive contingent in the jumps where they welcome back all three of their conference scorers and NCAA West First Round qualifiers in the high jump - senior Zharia Taylor, senior Esmeray Demirbas, and junior Kailah McKenzie. Taylor advanced to the 2025 NCAA Championships where she earned second-team All-America honors. McKenzie, who was also a regional qualifier in the long jump, has added the triple jump to her repertoire, making her debut in the event last weekend at the Vince O'Boyle Classic. McKenzie wasted no time in etching her name in the record books as she established the No. 4 mark in program history at 12.28m (40-3.5). The Anteaters are 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. Sugue owns a personal-record 3.78m (12-4.75), which is third in school history.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine is set to compete in the Bryan Clay Multis (April 9-10) and Challenge Cup (April 10) next week.