West Central Reporter

Western Illinois University's men's and women's outdoor track and field teams are set to compete in the prestigious Drake Relays this week. The events, taking place from Wednesday to Saturday, will see Leatherneck athletes participating in 16 entries for women and 12 for men.

Matthew Thomas will kick off the competition for Western Illinois with his participation in the decathlon starting on Wednesday. Thursday's events will include the Distance Carnival hosted by Drake, where Logan Lommel and Aylana Cezar will compete in the steeplechase events, while Madison Trevena and Logan Beckmier participate in the 10K race.

Thursday also features Maleigha Huston running in the women's 800 meters and Mohammed Baghati competing in the men's 1500 meters. The Leathernecks will continue their participation through Friday and Saturday, engaging in preliminaries and finals against top-tier track and field athletes nationwide.

The previous week at the Musco Twilight event was marked by challenging weather conditions; however, sophomore pole vaulter Arnie Grunert excelled by setting a new program record with a vault of 17 feet, 4.5 inches. This achievement places him 28th nationally in Division I rankings this season and first within the Ohio Valley Conference.

Following their participation at Drake Relays, Western Illinois is scheduled to continue their competitions at Ames next Friday during the Iowa State Alumni Open.