IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's track & field will send seven student-athletes to College Station, Texas, for the NCAA West First Round, May 28-31.
 
Senior Liam Miksic is an NCAA qualifier in the javelin for the fourth year in a row. In 2024, he had a career-best 14th-place regional finish. This year, Miksic enters the meet seeded eighth after unleashing a personal-best 71.06m (233-1) at the Big West Championships. He claimed his third-straight conference title and broke his own school record in the process.  
 
Junior Kenechukwu Okonkwo is seeded 13th in the triple jump in what will be his second consecutive NCAA appearance. Okonkwo established his qualifying mark at the Challenge Cup on March 15 where he won the event with a personal-record 15.83m (51-11.25). He ranks second in program history.
 
Seniors Jacob Hawkins (Discus) and Logan Peyton (Javelin) will also be making their second trip to the NCAA West First Round. Hawkins qualified in the discus with a season-best 56.25m (184-6), while Peyton made the field of 48 in the javelin with a season-best 65.16m (213-9).
 
Freshmen Justin Johnson and Angel Cordero will be heading to the NCAA West First Round in their first collegiate season. Cordero is an 800m qualifier with a personal and UCI freshman record of 1:48.10, which he ran in a second-place finish at the Big West Championships. Cordero had four individual victories on the year. Johnson also clocked a wind-aided 200m best of 20.69 in the Big West prelims, and a wind-legal PR of 20.87 in the conference final to move up to No. 4 in program history.
 
Senior Joshua Schuld is set to make his NCAA debut in the 3000m steeplechase. Schuld registered three PRs in 2025 with a best of 8:50.75 in a fourth-place finish at the Big West Championships. He ranks fifth among UC Irvine's all-time leaders.
 
The top-12 finishers at next week's regional meet will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 11-14.