at The Battle in the OC
Date: Thursday, April 20
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Titan Track Complex - Fullerton, Calif.
Meet Schedule

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine will make the short trip to Cal State Fullerton for The Battle in the OC on Thursday, April 20. Sixteen Anteaters are entered in nine events at Titan Track Complex. The men's field events get underway with the hammer throw at 2 p.m., while action on the track is slated for a 5 p.m. start.
 
IN THE TOP-10
• Cameron Smith ran a nearly 12-second PR of 8:58.24 in the 3000m steeplechase at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
• Smith is the ninth 'Eater to run a sub nine-minute race and ranks eighth in program history.
• At the UCSB Invitational (March 11), the throws squad posted three marks that cracked UCI's all-time top-10.
• Justin Willingham notched a lifetime-best 55-05.5 in the shot put to come in at No. 9.
• Willingham saw a slight improvement in a first-place finish at the Challenge Cup (April 7) at 55-09.25.
• Julian Sotelo also had the program's sixth-best javelin throw (since 1986) with a personal-record 198-04.
• Quincy Stokes rounded out the trio, unleashing a 14-foot PR of 181-10 in the hammer to rank seventh.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine sent a split squad to three local meets last week. Cameron Smith led the way at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa with a big personal record in the 3000m steeplechase. Smith crossed the finish line in 8:58.24 to crack the nine-minute mark for the first time in his career. He entered UCI's all-time top-10 at No. 8. Jacob Bustamante also registered a lifetime-best 14:28.84 in the 5000m. Zeid Hussain had a top-20 showing in a field of 197 athletes with a 1500m best of 3:51.00. Joshua Schuld wasn't far behind, clocking in at 3:51.13, while Smith added his second PR of the week at 3:56.53. Over in Long Beach, Drew Pickett ran a wind-aided personal-record 14.17 in the 110m hurdles, and Malcolm Overbaugh did the same in the 200m (21.44) at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate. Liam Miksic also highlighted action at the Beach Invitational with a season-best 205-09 in the javelin.
 
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 with four individual victories on the year. Willingham was a double champion in the shot put and discus at the Vince O'Boyle Classic on April 1. He also won the shot put at the UCSB Invitational (55-05.5) and Challenge Cup (55-09.25). Both marks were PRs at the time with his best of 55-09.25 ranking ninth in school history. In the javelin, sophomore Liam Miksic picked up an event win in his season debut at Anteater Stadium. He then notched a season-best 205-09 at the Beach Invitational to rank second in the Big West. Miksic was an all-conference performer last year and is second in program history with a lifetime-best 215-11. Graduate transfer Julian Sotelo also produced the program's sixth-best throw since 1986 with a toss of 198-04 at the UCSB Invite, 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. Stokes went on to finish first in the hammer at the VOB Classic.
 
DISTANCE
The Anteater distance crew had an impressive outing at the Bryan Clay Invitational, April 13-15. Junior Cameron Smith, who scored in the steeplechase at the Big West Championships a year ago, led the way with his first career sub nine-minute race. Smith clocked in at 8:58.24 to rank eighth in program history. Sophomore Jacob Bustamante added a 5000m personal-record 14:28.84, while three 'Eaters notched lifetime bests in the 1500m. Zeid Hussain had a top-20 showing among 197 athletes in the Open B section with a time of 3:51.00. Joshua Schuld also crossed the finish line in 3:51.13, and Smith came in at 3:56.53.
 
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. This year, he ranks second in the conference in the 110H with a wind-aided PR of 14.17 at the Beach Invite, while he picked up an event win at the Vince O'Boyle Classic. Sayles (14.48), who redshirted last season with an injury but took third as a true freshman in a tough 110H field at the 2021 Big West Championships, and sophomore Maxwell Jefferson (14.63) are also among the top-10 in the conference. 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.
 
JUMPS & MULTIS
The Anteaters have two newcomers leading the way in the multis and jumps. Max Daniels, a sophomore transfer out of Mt. SAC, was the 2022 California Community College Athletic Association state champion in the decathlon with a personal-record 6,577 points. Freshman Elijah Yoshinaga also owns the team's top marks in the long jump (23-01.75) and triple jump (43-10.5) this season. He was a CIF State finalist in both events at Elsinore High School.
  
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will host the Steve Scott Invitational at Anteater Stadium, April 28-29. It will be the team's final tune-up before the Big West Championships get underway with the decathlon at Cal State Fullerton, May 5-6. The main events are slated for the following weekend (May 12-13).