The Western Illinois men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete at the Gans Creek Invitational in Columbia, Missouri, on Friday morning. The event, hosted by Missouri, begins with the men's 8k Division I race at 9 a.m., followed by the women's Division I race.
"Our team is very excited for the competition on Friday," WIU coach Trey Brokaw stated. "We've put in a lot of quality work all summer and the last few weeks of training have gone exceptionally well. I anticipate some great individual and team performances this weekend down in Columbia."
Western Illinois will compete alongside teams from various universities including Baylor, Creighton, Drake, Eastern Washington, Illinois, Illinois State, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota among others. Individual athletes from Bradley and Nebraska will also participate.
Logan Lommel and Paulina Wuestefeld have led Western Illinois in their first two competitions. "Logan Lommel and Paulina Wuestefeld both led our teams the last two competitions," Brokaw said. "They've been exceptional leaders for our group this fall and I look forward to seeing how they do against some very good competition this weekend."
Brokaw highlighted that depth will be crucial in such a large meet. "We have some great runners up front on the men's and women's teams; having dependable depth is what we need to focus on before the post-season," he noted.
Freshman Aylana Cezar and sophomore Maleigha Huston have provided strong performances for the women's team while Olin Ortiz has emerged as a key runner behind Logan Lommel for the men's team. Freshmen Jace Green and Caleb Ware are expected to contribute significantly at upcoming championships.
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