Men's Track & Field Set to Host Vince O'Boyle Classic

Friday, March 31

Irvine, Calif.

1:30 PM

UC Irvine

Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic

Men's Track & Field Set to Host Vince O'Boyle Classic

March 30, 2023 | Men's Track & Field

Live Results Meet Notes

Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic
Date: Friday-Saturday (March 31-April 1)
Location: Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Tickets (Saturday Only) | Meet Schedule | Meet Program

With multiple events taking place at the UC Irvine Athletics facilities this weekend, parking at the Mesa Structure may be heavily impacted on Friday and Saturday.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine makes its home debut this weekend as it hosts the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic at Anteater Stadium, March 31-April 1. The javelin and hammer will be contested on Friday beginning at 1:30 p.m., while the rest of the events are slated for Saturday, starting with the long jump at 10 a.m.

Admission is free on Friday, while ticket prices for Saturday are $10 for adults and $6 for youth (ages 6-17). Children five and under are free and UCI undergraduate students are free with ID.

TOP-10 MARKS
• At the UCSB Invitational (March 11), the throws squad posted three marks that sit among UCI's all-time top-10.
• Justin Willingham notched a personal-best 55-05.5 in the shot put to rank ninth in school history.
• Julian Sotelo also had the program's sixth-best javelin throw (since 1986) with a lifetime-best 198-04.
• Quincy Stokes rounded out the trio, unleashing a 14-foot PR of 181-10 in the hammer to come in at No. 7.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine competed at UCLA last weekend, starting with the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival on Friday, March 24. Zeid Hussain finished fifth out of 45 in the 5000m with a personal-record 14:29.26. Cameron Smith also notched a season-best 9:13.56 to place third in the steeplechase. On Saturday, the Anteaters were back at Drake Stadium for the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational. Justin Willingham led the way with top-10 showings in the shot put (6th) and discus (7th). Jarel Sayles also took fifth in the 110m hurdles (14.49) in his season debut. Brandon Burns and Carlo Reyes notched season bests in the 100m, while Ty Sheridan did the same in the 400m. In addition, Malcolm Overbaugh was UCI's top performer in the 200m, clocking in at 21.84 seconds.

THROWS
Despite losing the last two Big West shot put champions to graduation, UC Irvine is still a force to be reckoned with in the throws. Junior Justin Willingham has led the squad, placing among the top-eight in each of his five finishes this season. In his second meet of the year, Willingham earned an individual victory in the shot put with a personal-record 55-05.5 at the UCSB invitational on March 11. His mark is good for ninth in school history. At the same meet, graduate transfer Julian Sotelo notched the program's sixth-best javelin throw since 1986 with a toss of 198-04, while Quincy Stokes became the first 'Eater to enter the record books in the hammer throw in five years with his 14-foot PR of 181-10 putting him at No. 7. Sophomore Liam Miksic, a 2022 All-Big West performer and NCAA West Preliminary qualifier in the javelin, is also scheduled to make his season debut on Friday.

DISTANCE
The youth movement continues with the men's distance squad. Lukas Amare and Cameron Smith have emerged as leaders of a group comprised of five juniors and four sophomores. Last year, Smith scored in the steeplechase, while Amare was an All-Big West performer in cross country this past fall. Sophomore Zeid Hussain also has a pair of top-five finishes in the 5000m this season. At UCLA's Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, Hussain was fifth out of 45 with a personal-record 14:29.26. In addition, redshirt freshman Joshua Schuld won the steeplechase at the Beach Opener.

SPRINTS & HURDLES
The 'Eaters have two of the top hurdlers in the conference in junior Drew Pickett and sophomore Jarel Sayles. Pickett was the Big West runner-up in the 110m hurdles and a conference qualifier in the 400m hurdles in 2022. He enters his third year of competition ranked eighth in school history in the 110H (14.19). Sayles redshirted last season with an injury but took third as a true freshman in a tough 110H field at the 2021 Big West Championships. Sophomore Maxwell Jefferson is also back and healthy after battling through injuries in his freshman campaign.

Senior Malcolm Overbaugh and juniors Eric Parker and Ty Sheridan, have anchored the sprints squad in the 200m and 400m. Overbaugh is a two-time All-Big West performer (200m, 4x400), while Parker was a member of the 4x400 that had a podium finish in 2021. The 'Eaters have also added some youth with incoming freshmen Brandon Burns (100m/200m) and Jake Preston (400m).

JUMPS & MULTIS
Senior Josh Farmer is a two-time All-American in the decathlon, while the Anteaters also brought in sophomore transfer Max Daniels out of Mt. SAC in the multis. Daniels was the 2022 California Community College Athletic Association state champion in the decathlon with a personal-record 6,577 points. In the jumps, freshman Elijah Yoshinaga has led the way with the team's top marks in both the long jump (23-01.75) and triple jump (43-10.5). He was a CIF State finalist in both events at Elsinore High School.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will head to Santa Barbara next Friday, April 7, for the Challenge Cup.