Western Illinois University Athletics issued the following announcement on Jan. 16
Western Illinois Track and Field wrapped up their first indoor meet of the season, competing in the Hawkeye Invitational hosted by the University of Iowa. Fans can view the full results from the invitational here.
"It was a great opener for the team this weekend," said head coach Trey Brokaw. "There were many personal bests, and even those who didn't hit a personal best still opened up better than they did a year ago."
Logan Lommel came up just short of breaking a school record in the 1000m. Lommel took third place with a time of 2:28.07. His mark comes just .36 seconds longer than current WIU record holder Tony Taylor, which he established back in 1992.
"Despite training in the snow and ice of central Minnesota most of the break, Logan really had a great opener. That gave the group a lot of momentum," said Trey Brokaw.
Richard Brown and Lucas Hofer both broke WIU's record in the 600m. Brown now holds the school record at 1:19.69. Hofer is now second all-time with a time of 1:20.06. Both marks broke Tony Taylor's 1993 record of 1:21.01.
"Those two should easily run under 1:49.00 in the 800 meters this indoor season. That's their main event and the event they have the best chance at qualifying for the NCAA Championships," said Trey Brokaw. "1:48.61 was the slowest time to qualify for Nationals last year, so I really believe they have a good chance. Only the top-16 athletes in the country qualify per event so it would be pretty special if they could pull it off together."
Ackeen Colley was the cherry on top for the record setting day, breaking WIU's mile record on his way to taking first place in the mile. His time of 4:08.53 won the race, broke the oldest school record in WIU track & field history, and set the Hawkeye Invitational meet record.
"What was most impressive about the run is that Ackeen was in 4th place behind the leader with 300 meters to go. He split right around 27 seconds for his last 200 meters and won at the line," said Trey Brokaw. "He's one of the best talents I've ever seen and he's certainly a winner. Ackeen's main event is the 800 meters. I think with a little more training, he could be one of the best milers in the country as well; he will need to be if we want our distance medley relay to qualify to the NCAA Championships later this season."
"Big congratulations to Phil Lorenc who held the school record in the indoor mile since 1963. His 4:11.14 was only bettered by teammate Daniel Ryan, who in 1958 ran the all-conditions mile school record of 4.10.60," said Trey Brokaw. "What those two men were able to accomplish nearly 60 years ago is so incredibly impressive. The tracks were much slower, the training was much simpler, and they certainly didn't have the competition shoe technology we have today. Records were made to be broken though and I'm so happy a hard working student-athlete like Ackeen could be the one to do it."
For the women, freshman Maleigha Huston was the highlight with two second place finishes. The Good Hope, Ill. native took second place in the 800m (2:17.05) and in the 1000m (2:59.19). Despite it being the first time Huston has ever run the 1000m, her time ranks seventh all-time in school history.
"I was really impressed with her poise and confidence. She has a bright future in the sport," said Trey Brokaw.
Western Illinois will be back in action next Friday Jan. 21 and Saturday Jan. 22, as they head to Terre Haute, Ind., to compete in the John Gartland Invitational, hosted by Indiana State.
"Indiana State University should be another great weekend for the team. Indiana State built a brand new indoor track & field facility a few years ago," said Trey Brokaw. "I hear it's a great venue so I'm excited to see what the team can do there."
Original source can be found here.
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