READY OR NOT, UCI TAKES OFF

Steve Virgen

It’s called the Big West Challenge Cup and that name, in a sense,

describes the UC Irvine track and field teams’ season at this point.

The Big West Challenge Cup is a four-way meet that will open the

conference season today at 10 a.m. The meet also serves as a

measuring stick for the Anteaters.

It can be a day of historic proportions and it also might be a day

of unfulfilled expectations. More than likely, it will be the former,

as today could end up as the turning point in UCI’s track and field

program, especially on the men’s side.

The UCI women’s team, which finished third last year, has the

strength to build on that and improve this season, while the men are

expected to move up. The Anteater men finished ninth last year in the

Big West, but things could change quickly this year.

“We have a much-improved men’s team,” said UCI Coach Vince

O’Boyle, who is entering his 15th year as the director of the track

and field program. “It’s good to see the men’s team slowly coming

back. That has been one of my missions in my time here, is to have a

solid men’s team again.”

O’Boyle, who also coaches UCI’s cross country teams, has coached

23 athletes in the last nine NCAA Track & Field Championships, with

11 of those UCI competitors earning All-America honors.

He could be adding more to that list this year. That became

evident last week at the Stanford Track & Field Invitational, where

the UCI women’s team received standout school-record breaking

performances from sophomore Erin Curtis and junior Jenny Liou.

Curtis won the pole vault with a mark of 13 feet, 1/4 inches,

eclipsing her previous UCI record of 12-9 1/2 set last year. Liou

completed the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:47.01 (ninth place) to

break her previous record of 10:57.00 from last season. She also

qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships at Stanford May 30-31.

Curtis reached an NCAA-qualifying mark in the pole vault earlier

this season. In addition, sophomore Suzanne Purmort recorded a time

of 1:01.91 in the 400-meter hurdles to move into seventh place on

UCI’s all-time list.

“The women’s team is very deep in certain areas,” O’Boyle said.

“Erin Curtis can run the 100, 200 and do the pole vault. She also can

run legs on both relays for us. She can do a lot of that in some

meets, but not all the time. And sometimes she can run the 400. She’s

very versatile and a fine athlete for a sophomore. She has all the

tools to be a great one.”

Curtis finished second in the pole vault in the Big West last

year, while Liou, originally from Moscow, Idaho, won a Big West title

in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She is poised to repeat as champion,

though Big West teams are stacking the event, O’Boyle said.

Junior Annmarie Turpin is also a returning Big West individual

champion, as she won the high jump (5-7) last year. Turpin also

possesses versatility, as she will compete as a heptathlete. Junior

Julie Manson is the defending Big West champion in the 10,000 meters

and she finished second in the 5,000 last year, as well.

Senior Wendy Chan has gained speed and is improving in the 800,

O’Boyle said.

“The women’s team is young,” O’Boyle said. “It’s amazing what we

can do [in the future].”

The UCI men’s team features senior Darrell Tozier who ran a

season-best 1:52.03 in the 800 last week at Stanford. Tozier

redshirted last season and the year before that he was the Big West

champion in the 800.

“He will be tough to beat in the 800,” O’Boyle said.

O’Boyle is also excited about Aaron Lewis and Jon Stewart who are

junior college transfers from Mt. San Antonio and Citrus College,

respectively. O’Boyle said they are excellent decathletes and he is

anxious to see their improvement ensue since they will be working

with UCI assistant coach Kevin McCarthy

“Those two guys can be tough and awfully good when we get deeper

into conference,” O’Boyle said. “They both can throw the javelin.

That gives us a solid punch.”

Freshman Tom Whelan and Ricky Barnes are also expected to

contribute in the middle distances.

The UCI track and field teams will be focusing on improving as

they compete toward peaking at the Big West Championships May 14-17

at Cal State Northridge.