The Western Illinois track and field teams participated in the Drake Relays and the Kip Janvrin Invite over the weekend, achieving notable performances. The Leathernecks recorded a victory at the Drake Relays, set a school record, and achieved an NCAA DI Regional qualifying mark.
On Thursday, Logan Lommel broke a 50-year-old school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase, previously held by Mike Novak since 1973. Freshman Lucas Burmeister ran the sixth-fastest time for a Leatherneck in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.34 seconds. Paulina Wuestefeld made her mark by running the third fastest all-time in the 1500 meters and sixth fastest in the 5000 meters.
Coach Trey Brokaw praised his team: "It was a great team effort for us this weekend. Our men's team set the tone early with Logan Lommel breaking one of our oldest school records, the steeplechase, on Thursday night." He added about Wuestefeld's performance: "Paulina has been gaining confidence each week and I believe she is poised to have an incredible finish to her Leatherneck career this spring."
On Friday at the Kip Janvrin Open, Richard Brown achieved a personal best in the 800 meters with a time of 1:48.28, qualifying him for the NCAA West Regional Championships. Coach Brokaw commented on Brown's race: "Richard Brown had the best race of his career... It's by far the best I've ever seen him race."
In field events on Friday, Toriano Tate and Alessandro Belluz excelled in long jump and triple jump events, while freshmen Aliyah Adams and Nakeita Kessling shone in women's triple jump.
"Coach Rob Tarpley has done a fantastic job with the jumps crew," said Brokaw. "They have a lot of potential for some big points at the Conference Championships in two weeks."
Despite challenging weather conditions on Saturday during main Drake Relays events, Western Illinois managed strong relay performances. The men's sprint medley team won their event featuring Zion Caruther, Lucas Burmeister, Richard Brown, and Lucas Hofer.
"I was very proud of how our student-athletes competed through elements," Brokaw stated. "Our men's and women's sprint medley teams were relays we tried to load... both teams competed very well."
The Leathernecks aim to carry this momentum into their next competition at Summit League Championships from May 11-13.
"Our team is so young; culture is great," said Brokaw. "For now our sights are set on Summit League Championships in Fargo North Dakota."
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