West Central Reporter

During the 2022-2023 academic year, Western Illinois University's track and field program saw several athletes break long-standing records. Notably, Logan Lommel and Paulina Wuestefeld set new benchmarks in cross country, while freshman Arnie Grunert excelled in pole vaulting. Additionally, Toriano Tate received accolades at the Summit League indoor conference championships.

Freshman Lucas Burmeister has qualified for the USA under-20 National Championships in the 100 meters and 200 meters. The event will take place in Eugene, Oregon, known as "Track Town USA," where a state-of-the-art track and field facility was recently built.

"I'm very excited to compete in a meet of this caliber," Burmeister stated. He aims to achieve personal bests with aspirations of running sub-10.50 seconds in the 100 meters and sub-21.00 seconds in the 200 meters.

Burmeister is one of 18 athletes competing in both events, ranked 14th for the 100 meters and 17th for the 200 meters. His current personal records are close to those of top qualifiers.

In Western Illinois history, Burmeister's time ties him for sixth all-time with LeRoy Jackson from 1961 and Marv Edwards from 1978. The school record stands at 20.91 seconds by Desmond Bynum since 2003.

Coach Trey Brokaw expressed enthusiasm about Burmeister's contributions to the team: "Lucas has been a tremendous addition to the team." Brokaw highlighted Burmeister's role in recent successes, including their performance at Drake Relays.

Despite some narrowly missing qualification for the u-20 Championships, Brokaw remains optimistic about the team's future potential.

The USA under-20 National Championships coincide with senior championships featuring professional athletes from July 6th to July 9th. Burmeister's events start on July 8th with hopes of advancing through preliminaries to finals on July 9th. Success could lead him to represent the U.S. at October's World Championships in Santiago, Chile.