COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Senior Liam Miksic punched his ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a 12th-place showing in the javelin at the NCAA West First Round Wednesday at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
 
The top-12 finishers in the regional field of 48 earned a trip to Eugene, Oregon, for the national championships. Miksic, who was competing in his fourth-straight NCAA West First Round meet, opened the final flight with a solid mark of 66.22 meters (217-3). On his second attempt, he moved up to 10th in the standings with a toss of 68.57m (224-11), and that distance held through the final round as the 12th-best of the day.
 
Miksic, who recently won his third-straight Big West javelin title with a school-record 71.06m (233-1), will continue his stellar season in two weeks with his first trip to Eugene for the NCAA Championships (June 11-14). It marks the second year in a row UCI will be represented on the national stage as Josh Farmer made his third career NCAA appearance in the decathlon in 2024.
 
Freshman Justin Johnson advanced out of the first round in the 200m as one of six time qualifiers. Johnson earned his spot in Friday evening's quarterfinal after matching his wind-legal personal record of 20.87, which ranks fourth in program history. The top-12 finishers in the next round will punch their ticket to Eugene.
 
Angel Cordero capped a standout freshman campaign in the 800m where he was 45th overall (1:52.25). Cordero was the Anteaters' first NCAA regional qualifier in the 800m since 2017, claimed runner-up honors at the Big West Championships and had four individual victories during the regular season. He clocked a personal-record 1:48.10 at the conference meet to move up to No. 4 on UC Irvine's all-time charts.
 
Senior Logan Peyton closed out an impressive career with his second-straight NCAA West First Round appearance in the javelin. He placed 46th (55.58m) and will graduate with a PR of 65.93m (216-4), which ranks third in program history.
 
The UC Irvine men's track & field team will resume NCAA West First Round action at E.B. Cushing Stadium on Friday, May 30.