UCI Heads to UCR Spring Classic

Saturday, March 22

Riverside, Calif.

9:00 AM

UC Irvine

UCR Spring Classic

UCI Heads to UCR Spring Classic

March 20, 2025 | Men's Track & Field

Live Results Meet Notes

UCR Spring Classic
Date: Saturday, March 22
Location: UC Riverside Track Facility / UCR Agricultural Operations (Hammer) - Riverside, Calif.
Meet Info

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's track & field heads to Riverside for the UCR Spring Classic on Saturday, March 22. The field events get underway at 9 a.m., while action on the track is slated for a 12:30 p.m. start.

LAST TIME OUT
UCI picked up three event wins at the Challenge Cup last Saturday, March 15, at Anteater Stadium. Junior Kenechukwu Okonkwo took top honors in the triple jump with a personal-record 15.83 meters (51-11.25). Freshman Angel Cordero earned his second 800m victory of the season where he clocked a lifetime-best 1:48.88. Senior Liam Miksic also notched his second javelin win in as many meets, topping the field with a toss of 64.10m (210-3).

MAKING THE LEAP
Junior Kenechukwu Okonkwo joined the Anteaters as a mid-year transfer in 2024 and made an immediate impact as a Big West scorer and NCAA West First Round qualifier in the triple jump. In just his second meet at UCI, he cracked the program's all-time top-10 with a lifetime-best of 15.33 meters (50-3.5). In his second meet of the 2025 season, Okonkwo set a new PR with a leap of 15.83 meters (51-11.25) for his first collegiate victory at the Challenge Cup. Okonkwo's mark is tops in all of NCAA Division I and moved him past Mike Powell for No. 2 in program history. He is the first 'Eater to surpass 51 feet since Powell in 1984.

WINNING WAYS
Seniors Liam Miksic (Javelin) and Jacob Hawkins (Discus), who were the Big West champions in their respective events last year, have both continued their winning ways to start the 2025 campaign. Miksic had an impressive javelin series at the Beach Opener on March 7, throwing for over 200 feet on all six of his attempts including a meet and season-best 67.09 meters (220-1). He also won the javelin at the Challenge Cup last Saturday. Miksic is a three-time NCAA West First Round qualifier and two-time Big West champion in the javelin. Hawkins led wire-to-wire in his discus win at the Ben Brown Invitational (March 8). His top mark of the afternoon came in the opening round where he had a toss of 55.39m (181-8).

FRESHMAN SENSATION
Freshman Angel Cordero is undefeated in his first two collegiate 800m races. He kicked off his Anteater career by beating out an 800m field of 45 athletes with a time of 1:52.18 at the Astro AI Distance Classic in Fullerton on March 7. The Chula Vista native continued to impress at the Challenge Cup last weekend where he clocked a personal-record 1:48.88 for his second event win. His time is tops in all of NCAA Division I this season and ranks fifth in program history as he became the first 'Eater to crack the top-10 in the men's 800m since 2017.

HEAD START
Joshua Schuld started his senior season with a statement in the steeplechase at the Beach Opener. Schuld ran a lifetime-best 8:54.14 to win the event by over 29 seconds. His nearly 12-second PR ranks sixth in program history and leads all of NCAA Division I this season.

OUT OF THE BLOCKS
Senior Bryce Bushnell and freshman Justin Johnson are both out to a fast start this season. At the Challenge Cup, Bushnell crossed the 100m finish line in a season-best 10.54 seconds to move into a tie for third in program history. Johnson was right on his heels at 10.56 seconds to rank seventh among UCI's all-time leaders. Johnson also posted the Anteaters' fifth-fastest 200m at 21.04 in his collegiate debut at the Ben Brown Invitational. In addition, junior AJ Taylor (110H, 14.55), senior Ashton Fegel (400H, 54.80) and junior Matthew Irvine (400m, 48.79) own UC Irvine's top times of the season in their respective events.

AT A GLANCE
The 'Eaters are coming off a 2024 season in which they had four Big West individual champions and six NCAA West First Round qualifiers. UCI welcomes back four student-athletes from that group, including Jacob Hawkins (Discus) and Liam Miksic (Javelin) who broke the school record in their respective events last year. The Anteaters also bring in 10 newcomers with five junior college transfers and five true freshmen.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns to Anteater Stadium to host the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic, March 28-29.