Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic
Date: Friday, March 29
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Meet Program

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's track & field team is set to make its home debut this week, hosting the third annual Vince O'Boyle Classic on Friday, March 29. Due to expected rain on Saturday, this year's event was changed to a one-day meet. The field events will start at 10 a.m., while action on the track gets underway at 4:10 p.m., following a recognition ceremony for Vince O'Boyle.
 
QUICK HITS
• Vince O'Boyle spent 32 years at the helm of the Anteater cross country/track & field program.
• O'Boyle was a 20-time Big West Coach of the Year, mentored an NCAA individual champion and 27 All-Americans.
• He also led the 'Eaters to 12 conference titles in women's cross country and seven in men's cross country.
• Jacob Hawkins was named The Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Week on March 19.
• Hawkins won the shot put and discus, and broke a 41-year-old school record in the latter event at the Challenge Cup.
• Justin Willingham also took down a nine-year-old school record in the shot put at the Ben Brown Invite.
• Liam Miksic, the reigning Big West champion in the javelin, established a PR 65.85 (216-0) at the Beach Opener.
• Miksic is a two-time all-conference performer and NCAA Regional qualifier.
• Josh Farmer is a two-time All-American in the decathlon and is back for his senior season after redshirting in 2023.
• Max Daniels is coming off his first completed decathlon as an Anteater where he established a PR 7,196 points.
 
MAKING HISTORY
At the Challenge Cup on March 15, junior Jacob Hawkins broke a 41-year-old school record in the discus with a personal-best 59.03 meters (193-8). He topped the previous standard of 58.44m, which was set by Ken Mills back in 1983. At the same meet, Hawkins also established a lifetime-best 17.83m (58-6) in the shot put, which ranks fifth in program history. He won both events and was named The Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Week for his effort. Hawkins added an individual victory in the discus last weekend at the Aztec Invitational on March 23.
 
LETTING IT FLY
Senior Justin Willingham broke a nine-year-old school record in the shot put at the Ben Brown Invitational. He had an impressive series, leading 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 (18.23) 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, beating out Mason Miller's mark of 18.44m (60-6) from 2015. Willingham is also seventh in program history in the discus (54.68m).
 
REIGNING CHAMP
At the Beach Opener on March 1, junior Liam Miksic, who won the Anteaters' first Big West men's javelin title last year, improved on his No. 2 mark in program history with a PR 65.85m (216-0). Junior transfer Logan Peyton also threw for 63.40m (208-0), which ranks third among UC Irvine's all-time leaders. Peyton was a 2023 NCAA Division II All-American at Azusa Pacific.
 
DECATHLON DUO
Junior Max Daniels completed his first decathlon as an Anteater at the UCR Spring Classic Multis, March 21-22. He finished with a personal-record 7,196 points, which ranks eighth in program history. He also cracked UCI's all-time top-10 in the long jump, notching a lifetime-best 7.34m (24-1). Senior Josh Farmer is back from a redshirt season after qualifying for the NCAA Championships and earning second-team All-America honors in 2021 and 2022.
 
GOING THE DISTANCE
The Anteaters have a seasoned distance crew, returning all four conference scorers from a year ago. Junior Jacob Bustamante had a fourth-place finish in the 10K, while senior Cameron Smith placed among the top-eight in the steeplechase and 5K. Junior Joshua Schuld was also fifth in the steeple and junior Zeid Hussain was seventh in the 10K. In addition, UCI welcomes back junior Lukas Amare, who redshirted the 2023 campaign. Entering the mix are freshmen Juan Chantaca and Jimmy Markowicz.
 
OUT OF THE BLOCKS
Senior Drew Pickett and junior Jarel Sayles lead the hurdles group. Both have earned All-Big West honors (110H) in their careers. The 'Eaters also bring in freshman Roman Mendoza, who was the 2023 CIF-Southern Section champion in the 110H at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. A pair of newcomers have paced the Anteaters in the short sprints as freshman Alex Skalmowski owns a season-best 10.73 in the 100m, and junior transfer Bryce Bushnell ran the team's fastest 200m of the year at 21.60.
 
AT A GLANCE
The 'Eaters return 16 letterwinners from last year's team that finished sixth at the Big West Championships. UCI also welcomes back three key members of the squad who redshirted the 2023 campaign and brings in 12 newcomers to bolster its roster.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine travels south to La Jolla for the Triton Invitational, April 5-6.