at Ben Brown Invitational
Date: Thursday-Friday (March 12-13)
Location: Cal State Fullerton - Fullerton, Calif.
Meet Info | Live Results

at Aztec Coastal Classic
Date: Friday, March 13
Location: SDSU Sports Deck - San Diego, Calif.
Meet Schedule | Live Results

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's track & field returns to action at the Ben Brown Invitational in Fullerton, March 12-13. The Anteaters will also send a small contingent of distance runners to compete in the Aztec Coastal Classic at San Diego State on Friday, March 13.

QUICK HITS
• UCI has 16 student-athletes entered in 12 events at the Ben Brown Invitational.
• Six distance runners will make their way to San Diego for the Aztec Coastal Classic on Friday.
• Logan Lyght was named the Big West Men's Track Athlete of the Week on March 10.
• The Anteaters have 18 returners and 11 newcomers.
• Among the returnees are four of UC Irvine's seven NCAA West First Round qualifiers from last year.

INSTANT IMPACT
Junior transfer Logan Lyght, who spent the last two years at Houston, was named the Big West Men's Track Athlete of the Week after his first meet of the season. Lyght made a statement in his Anteater debut at the Beach Opener where he won the 110m hurdles in a wind-legal personal-record 13.96. That time ranks fifth in school history. He also competed in the 200m, crossing the finish line in 21.32 seconds for a top-eight finish. Lyght leads the nation in both events through the first week of the season.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine's newcomers put together an impressive showing at the Beach Opener, March 6-7. In addition to Logan Lyght's aforementioned performances, graduate transfer Darrin Campbell and sophomore transfer Duke Pascoe cracked the program's all-time top-10. Campbell made his way up to No. 4 in school history in the javelin with a toss of 64.24m (210-9), while Pascoe sits at No. 8 in the hammer where he launched a season-opening toss of 55.29m (181-4). Sophomore Justin Johnson, a 2025 NCAA qualifier in the 200m, ran a wind-aided lifetime-best 10.42 to place third in the 100m. 
 
SPRINTS & HURDLES
Justin Johnson is coming off a freshman campaign in which he was an NCAA West First Round qualifier and Big West scorer in the 200m. Johnson clocked a personal-record 20.69 at the regional meet to rank second in school history, while he also sits at No. 7 in the 100m (10.56). Junior transfer Brendan Clark will make his UCI debut in the 400m on Friday. Clark was a 3C2A State Championship qualifier and conference runner-up in the event at Orange Coast College. In the hurdles, senior AJ Taylor is the Anteaters' top returner as a Big West scorer (110H), while Logan Lyght has already made his presence felt after spending two seasons at the University of Houston. Lyght is a local product out of Mater Dei High School where he was a two-time CIF-Southern Section champion in the 110H.

JUMPS
Senior Kenechukwu Okonkwo will anchor the jumps crew. Okonkwo is a two-time NCAA West First Round qualifier in the triple jump, and claimed runner-up honors at the Big West Championships last year. The Colton, California, native enters the 2026 campaign ranked second in school history with a lifetime-best 15.83 meters (51-11.25). In the high jump, Alan Vuong is coming off a breakout season in which he was a conference scorer with a lifetime-best 2.06m (6-9), which was good for fourth place. Senior Jake Reed also scored in the pole vault and registered a collegiate PR 4.78m (15-8.25) in 2025.

DISTANCE
Leading the distance group is 2025 Big West Freshman of the Year Angel Cordero. In his first collegiate season, Cordero was an NCAA West First Round qualifier and conference runner-up in the 800m. He ran a personal-record 1:48.10 at the Big West Championships to rank fourth in program history. Graduate student Joshua Schuld is also back after qualifying for the NCAA West First Round and finishing fourth at the conference meet in the steeplechase last year. Schuld is set to make his season debut in the 5000m at SDSU.

THROWS
Transfers Darrin Campbell (javelin) and Duke Pascoe (hammer) both made their way into the program's all-time top-10 in their Anteater debuts. All three 'Eaters who competed in the shot put at the Beach Opener also established personal bests - Joe Duggan (16.80m/55-1.5), Chimobi Onye (16.54m/54-3.25), and Jake Troxell (16.25m/53-3.75). In addition, freshman Griffin Cole is expected to contribute in the javelin where he was the U18 Canadian national champion. The Vancouver native brings a personal-record 62.05m (203-7) to Irvine.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make its home debut, March 27-28, when it hosts the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic.