Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic
Date: Friday-Saturday (March 27-28)
Location: Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Meet Info

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's track & field makes its home debut this weekend, hosting the Vince O'Boyle Classic, March 27-28. The long jump, hammer, javelin, and high jump will be contested on Friday, while the rest of the field events and all the track events are scheduled for Saturday. 

THE LEGEND
Vince O'Boyle spent 32 years at the helm of the Anteater cross country/track & field program. The 20-time Big West Coach of the Year mentored an NCAA individual champion, 27 All-Americans and 23 Big West Athletes of the Year during his tenure. O'Boyle also led the 'Eaters to 12 conference titles in women's cross country and seven in men's cross country. He elevated the women's program to national prominence with four trips to the NCAA Championships where they had three top-10 finishes. O'Boyle is a UCI Athletics and Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame inductee.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine was last in action at the Ben Brown Invitational in Fullerton, March 12-13. The throws squad led the way as sophomore Duke Pascoe opened the meet with his second-straight personal record in the hammer throw. Pascoe hit 57.33 meters (188-1) to move up two spots to No. 6 among UCI's all-time leaders. Freshman Griffin Cole also notched a season-best 61.17m (200-8) in the javelin to rank seventh in program history. Senior Chimobi Onye established lifetime bests in both the shot put (16.91m/55-5.75) and discus (49.09m/161-0). Senior Jake Troxell added a PR 47.26m (155-0) in the discus. 

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's 110H time ranks 13th in the nation this season.

OUT OF THE BLOCKS
Through the first two meets of the season, sophomore Justin Johnson has the Anteaters' top times in the 100m (10.42) and 200m (21.08). His 100m time, which he ran at the Beach Opener, was a wind-aided personal record. As a true freshman last year, Johnson was an NCAA West First Round qualifier and Big West scorer in the 200m. He clocked a lifetime-best 20.69 at the regional meet to rank second in school history, while his wind-legal PR of 10.56 in the 100m sits at No. 7. Junior transfer Brendan Clark made his UCI debut in the 400m at the Ben Brown Invitational where he finished third out of 41 with a time of 47.48. Clark was a 3C2A State Championship qualifier and conference runner-up in the event at Orange Coast College. 

SETTING THE STANDARD
Transfers Darrin Campbell and Duke Pascoe both made their way into the program's all-time top-10 in their Anteater debuts. Campbell hit a season-best 64.24 meters (210-9) in the javelin at the Beach Opener to rank fourth in school history (since 1986). Pascoe also registered a PR 55.29m (181-4) in the hammer, before topping that mark at the Ben Brown Invitational with a toss of 57.33m (188-1) to sit at No. 6 among UCI's leaders. Freshman Griffin Cole joined Campbell in the javelin top-10 with a season-best 61.17m (200-8) two weeks ago in Fullerton. In addition, three 'Eaters have already established personal records in the shot put - Chimobi Onye (16.91m/55-5.75), Joe Duggan (16.80m/55-1.5), and Jake Troxell (16.25m/53-3.75). 

MAKING THE LEAP
Senior Kenechukwu 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). He is set to make his season debut on Saturday. 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). Senior Jake Reed also scored in the pole vault and registered a collegiate PR 4.78m (15-8.25) in 2025.

GOING THE DISTANCE
Sophomore Angel Cordero, who was named the 2025 Big West Freshman of the Year, is the Anteaters' top returner in the distance group. 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. 

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will head south to La Jolla for the Triton Invitational, April 3-4.