Chavez earns Big West honor in women’s track

UC Irvine senior Candice Chavez has been named the Big West Conference Athlete of the Week in women’s track.

Chavez finished second among 89 runners in the 5,000 meters with a career-best time of 16 minutes, 39.87 seconds at Cal State Fullerton’s Ben Brown Invitational Saturday. That time qualifies her for the NCAA West Regional at Eugene, Ore., May 29-30.

Her time was 19 seconds faster than her previous career best recorded two years ago.

The UCI track and field teams compete at the Northridge Invitational Saturday.

— From staff reports