Sprinter bids for Olympics

UC Irvine sprinter Persis William-Mensah, an Estancia High product, will compete in the 20th African Senior Track and Field Championships that begin Wednesday and run through Sunday in Durban, South Africa.

She is aiming to earn a spot on the 4x100-meter relay for her native country of Ghana at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The top 16 teams in the 4x100 relay from around the world will qualify for the Olympics. She also is scheduled to compete in the 100 at the African Championships.

William-Mensah, who recently finished her sophomore season at UCI, ran the anchor leg on the Anteaters’ 4x100 relay that won the Big West Conference title last month with a school-record time of 44.51 seconds. It was the second-fastest time in conference championship history and marked UCI’s first conference title in the event since 1992.

She was runner-up in the 100 at the Big West Championships with a time of 11.55.

William-Mensah competed in the 100 and on UCI’s 4x100 relay in the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Lawrence, Kan., in late May.

— From staff reports

— From staff reports