at Challenge Cup
Date: Friday, April 7
Time: 12 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Pauley Track & Field Facility - Santa Barbara, Calif.


IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine makes its way to Santa Barbara for the Challenge Cup this Friday, April 7. The Anteaters will square off against Big West foes Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and host UCSB. The one-day meet is slated for an afternoon start with the field events kicking things off at 12 p.m. and action on the track getting underway at 3 p.m.
 
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 lifetime-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 personal-record 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
Justin Willingham picked up two of UC Irvine's five event wins at the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic at Anteater Stadium, March 31-April 1. Willingham started Saturday's action with his second shot put victory of the season. He took the lead on his second attempt with a toss of 55-00.75, and that stood as the top mark through the final four rounds. Willingham came back later in the day with a first-place finish in the discus (166-10). In his season debut, Liam Miksic defended his VOB Classic title in the javelin (199-09), while Quincy Stokes earned his first collegiate victory in the hammer, beating out the field by over 12 feet with a mark of 180-10. On the track, Drew Pickett took top honors in the 110m hurdles, clocking a season-best 14.45. Pickett edged teammate Jarel Sayles by seven-hundredths of a second.
 
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 seven finishes this season. He owns three individual victories, starting with a shot put win at the UCSB Invitational (March 11) where he established a personal-record 55-05.5. That mark is good for ninth in school history. Willingham was also a double champion in the shot put and discus at the Vince O'Boyle Classic on April 1. In the javelin, sophomore Liam Miksic picked up a victory in his season debut last weekend, while graduate transfer Julian Sotelo produced the program's sixth-best throw since 1986 with a toss of 198-04 at the UCSB Invite. Quincy Stokes also 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
Sophomore Zeid Hussain has led the distance squad early in the season with three top-five finishes. He was the runner-up in the 1500m (3:56.03) last weekend at the Vince O'Boyle Classic, while he was also fifth out of 45 in the 5000m with a personal-record 14:29.26 at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival. Junior Cameron Smith, who scored in the steeplechase at the Big West Championships a year ago, ran a season-best 9:13.56 at UCLA, and redshirt freshman Joshua Schuld finished first in the event at the Beach Opener (9:14.94).
 
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. In his second meet of the season, he won the 110H in a season-best 14.49 at the Vince O'Boyle Classic. Pickett ran a personal-record 14.19 last year to rank eighth in school history. 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 hurdler 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 has a busy week ahead with the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 12-14), Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (April 13), Beach Invitational (April 14-15) and the Mt. SAC Relays (April 14-15) on the docket.