Big West Championships
Date: Friday-Saturday (May 16-17)
Location: Jack Rose Track - Long Beach, Calif.
Meet Info

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's track & field makes its way to Long Beach State's Jack Rose Track for the Big West Championships, May 16-17. The meet gets underway Friday with the first event scheduled for 10:30 a.m., while Saturday's action is set for a 12 p.m. start.

BIG WEST REWIND
The Anteaters' roster features 20 letterwinners from last year's team that finished fifth at the Big West Championships. They welcome back two reigning individual champions in Liam Miksic (Javelin) and Jacob Hawkins (Discus). UCI has hoisted the team trophy twice in program history, winning the conference championship in 1978 and 1979.

THROWING IT OUT THERE
UC Irvine has had an individual conference champion in the throws in each of the last four years. In 2024, UCI took first in three of the four throwing events. Liam Miksic brought home his second-straight Big West title in the javelin, while Jacob Hawkins became the Anteaters' first conference champion in the discus since 1992. Justin Willingham was also the third 'Eater in the last four years to win the shot put at the conference meet.

WEEKLY HONOR
Senior Liam Miksic was named the Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Week on April 8. Miksic took second overall, and was the top collegiate finisher in the javelin at the Triton Invitational. The Spring Lake, New Jersey, native threw for over 200 feet in all six rounds with a season-best 67.51 meters (221-6) on his third attempt. His mark ranks second in the Big West and 26th in the West Region. 

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 entered 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 the Big West, 10th in the West Region and 18th in all of NCAA Division I this season. He also moved past Mike Powell for No. 2 in program history. 

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 in 2025. Miksic placed among the top-three in all six of his meets with individual victories at the Beach Opener, Challenge Cup, Vince O'Boyle Classic and Steve Scott Invitational. 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 season-opening discus win at the Ben Brown Invitational. He was also a double champion in the shot put and discus at both the UCR Spring Classic and Vince O'Boyle Classic.

FRESHMAN SENSATION
In his first collegiate season, freshman Angel Cordero has won four of his six 800m races. He kicked off his Anteater career by beating out a 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 (March 15) where he clocked a then personal-record 1:48.88 for his second event win. Cordero trimmed .19 seconds off that time at the Bryan Clay Invitational with an impressive 1:48.69. Cordero ranks fifth in program history as he is the first 'Eater to crack the top-10 in the men's 800m since 2017. He added 800m victories at the Triton Invitational (1:50.76) and Steve Scott Invitational (1:49.77).

SENIOR STATEMENT
Senior Joshua Schuld has run a personal record in five of his six races this season. In the steeplechase, Schuld opened the campaign with a 12-second lifetime-best 8:54.14 before bettering that mark at the Bryan Clay Invitational where he crossed the finish line in 8:51.28. His PR ranks fifth in program history. Schuld added a 5000m personal-best 14:17.79 at the Mangrum Invitational, while setting 1500m personal-records of 3:50.04 at the Triton Invitational (April 5) and 3:48.63 at the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 18).

THE LONG RUN
Sophomore Juan Chantaca clocked a lifetime-best 14:09.52 in the 5000m at the Bryan Clay Invitational. His time sits ninth on UC Irvine's all-time charts. Chantaca is the first Anteater to crack the program's top-10 in the men's 5K since 2007. 

OUT OF THE BLOCKS
Senior Bryce Bushnell and freshman Justin Johnson both got out to a fast start this year. At the Challenge Cup on March 15, 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 owns the squad's top 110H time of the season at 14.42 seconds, while sophomore Roman Mendoza leads the way in the 400H (52.91).

UP NEXT
Qualifying individuals and relay teams will compete in the NCAA First Round (West Region) at College Station, Texas, May 28-31.