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Willingham Breaks Shot Put Record to Highlight Final Day in Fullerton

March 09, 2024

FULLERTON, Calif. - Senior Justin Willingham won the shot put with a school-record 18.62 meters on the final day of the Ben Brown Invitational Saturday at Titan Track Stadium.
 
Willingham had an impressive series as he led wire-to-wire in the individual victory. After opening the competition with a then personal-best 17.77m (58-3.75), he saw an improvement on his third (17.93m) and fourth (18.23m) attempts. On his sixth and final throw, Willingham unleashed a toss of 18.62m (61-1.25). He is just the second Anteater to surpass 60 feet, breaking a nine-year-old standard of 18.44m (60-6) that was held by Mason Miller.
 
Junior Jacob Hawkins was the runner-up with a personal-record 17.80m (58-4.75), which ranks fifth in program history.
 
In the discus, Hawkins established a lifetime-best 57.42m (188-4) to move up to No. 4 on UCI's all-time charts. He took second, but was the top collegiate performer in the competition. Willingham added a PR 53.98m (177-1) to place sixth overall and 10th in the record books.
 
Sophomore Chimobi Onye also notched a personal-best 14.18m (46-6.25) in the shot put and a season-best 46.52m (152-7) in the discus.
 
Freshman Alan Vuong tied for fifth in the high jump, clearing 2.01m (6-7), while junior Garren Haynes was eighth in the triple jump at 13.87m (45-6.25).
 
On the track, senior Drew Pickett was the runner-up in his 110m hurdle season debut, crossing the finish line in 14.19 seconds. Junior Jarel Sayles was fifth (14.48) and junior decathlete Max Daniels clocked a PR 15.16 to place 10th.
 
Senior Ty Sheridan led a trio of 'Eaters in the 400m with a time of 49.01 to come in sixth out of 59.
 
Junior Ashton Fegel placed eighth in the 400H (56.89) and junior Bryce Bushnell also took eighth in the 200m (21.60).
 
UCI was fourth in both relay events. Freshman Alex Skalmowski, Bushnell, sophomore Brandon Burns and Daniels ran 41.08 in the 4x100, while freshman Roman Mendoza, Sheridan, sophomore Jake Preston and Fegel came in at 3:16.50 in the 4x400.
 
UCI returns to Titan Track Stadium in Fullerton next Friday, March 15, for the Challenge Cup.
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