Steve Scott Invitational
Date: Friday-Saturday (April 26-27)
Location: Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Meet Info

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's track & field team is back in Anteater Stadium this weekend as it hosts the Steve Scott Invitational, April 26-27. The meet gets underway Friday with field events starting at 1 p.m. and the distance events on the track beginning at 5:45 p.m. Action will resume Saturday at 12 p.m.
 
QUICK HITS
• UCI will recognize its 11 seniors in a ceremony on Saturday at 3:50 p.m.
• Josh Farmer finished with a PR and Big West-leading 7,703 points in the decathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
• Farmer, a two-time All-American, improved on his No. 2 mark in program history.
• Justin Willingham has broken the school record in the shot put three times this season.
• On April 6, he topped his own standard with a program-best 18.68 meters (61-3.5) at the Triton Invite.
• Jacob Hawkins took down a 41-year-old discus school record with a toss of 59.03m (193-8) at the Challenge Cup.
• Logan Peyton (65.93m) and Liam Miksic (65.85m) set PRs in the javelin that rank second and third in school history.
 
DECATHLON DUO
Senior Josh Farmer and junior Max Daniels both established personal bests in the decathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational, April 11-12. Farmer finished with 7,703 points, which ranks first in the conference, second in school history, eighth in the region and 11th in the nation. The two-time All-American, who redshirted last season, was named The Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Week after his first decathlon since 2022. Daniels established a lifetime-best 7,435 points, which is third in the conference, 16th in the region and 20th in the nation. He ranks fifth on UCI's all-time charts in the decathlon and eighth in the long jump (7.39m/24-3).
 
LETTING IT FLY
Senior Justin Willingham broke a nine-year-old school record in the shot put at the Ben Brown Invitational where he had a then personal-best 18.62 meters (61-1.25). He bettered that mark at the Vince O'Boyle Classic with a toss of 18.65m (61-2.25), which earned him Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Week honors. On April 6, Willingham saw another improvement, hitting 18.68m (61-3.5) at the Triton Invitational. He is the second Anteater to surpass 60 feet, joining Mason Miller, who had a best of 18.44m (60-6) in 2015. Willingham has placed among the top-10 in eight of his nine shot put competitions with three individual victories. He also established a PR 54.87m (180-0) to rank seventh in program history in the discus.
 
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 at the Vince O'Boyle Classic (March 29) and Aztec Invite (March 23).
 
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 then passed Miksic on UCI's all-time charts last weekend with a personal-record 65.93m (216-4) to win the javelin at the Mt. SAC Relays. Peyton is a junior transfer who earned 2023 NCAA Division II All-America honors at Azusa Pacific.
 
OUT OF THE BLOCKS
Senior Drew Pickett and junior Jarel Sayles both have earned All-Big West honors in their careers and rank among the top-10 in program history in the 110m hurdles. At the Vince O'Boyle Classic, Sayles ran a 110H personal-record 14.23 (No. 9), while Pickett's PR of 14.08 from last season sits at No. 6. Two weeks ago at the Beach Invitational, Pickett clocked a wind-aided best of 14.01 seconds. Freshman Roman Mendoza, who was the 2023 CIF-Southern Section champion in the 110H at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, leads UCI in the 400H with a season-best 53.48.
 
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.
 
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 heads to San Luis Obispo, California, for the Big West Multi-Event Championships, May 3-4.