West Central Reporter

The Western Illinois University (WIU) track and field team began their outdoor season with notable performances in two separate meets. Following a successful indoor season, the team continued to show strength and determination.

At the Washington University Distance Carnival on Thursday, Logan Lommel excelled in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Lommel set a new program outdoor record with a time of 8:58.10, winning the event after an impressive final lap. His performance places him in contention for an NCAA West Region berth.

In women's events at Washington U, Maleigha Huston finished ninth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:12.93, while Aylana Cezar secured a top-10 finish in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:54.02.

At the Redbird Challenge, WIU's women’s team placed second overall with 145 points, while the men’s team finished fourth with 51.5 points. Jasmine Stokes won the women’s hammer throw with a personal-best distance of 168 feet, nine inches.

The women's long jump was particularly strong for WIU as Aliyah Adams won with a jump of 19-02.75. Renee Raglin and Nakeita Kesling followed closely behind in third and fourth place respectively.

In pole vaulting events, Emma Ponx led WIU by finishing second overall at 12-04.75—marking it as the second-best performance in program history. Dana Surwillo also made her mark by securing third place and setting an eighth-best record for WIU.

Adams continued her success by winning the triple jump event at 39-07.25, while Cadence Stanley scored points in javelin throw with a personal best of 108-09.

For men's field events, Toriano Tate achieved third place in long jump at 22-11.75 and Alessandro Belluz took second place in triple jump at 46-07.25.

On track events, WIU's women's relay teams performed well; notably, their 4x100 team ran one of the fastest times in program history at 47.19 seconds to win first place.

Sophia Myers made an impressive debut by tying for third-fastest time ever recorded for WIU women’s track and field during her run on Saturday morning clocking-in under fourteen seconds (13:89).

WIU will compete next on April 13th at SIUE Cougar Classic.