West Central Reporter

The Western Illinois University men's and women's track teams are set to begin their outdoor season with two meets this week. The Leatherneck distance specialists will participate in the Washington Distance Carnival at Washington University in St. Louis on Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, the rest of the team will compete at the Redbird Challenge hosted by Illinois State on Saturday.

Logan Lommel and Aylana Cezar from the Leathernecks will open their season on Thursday night at Washington, competing in the fast heat of the steeplechase event. Both athletes are nearing program records in this discipline. The competition continues with the fast heats of both women's and men's 5k and 10k races on Thursday night, followed by events starting at noon on Friday.

Other distance runners scheduled to compete include Robert Perry, Logan Beckmier, Mohammed Baghati, Madison Trevena, Maleigha Huston, and Isaac Jones.

On Saturday, the remainder of the team will travel to Illinois State for the Redbird Challenge. Field events are slated to begin at 10 a.m., with running events commencing at noon.

The Leathernecks have a busy spring ahead with four more meets before participating in the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Meet in Charleston, Illinois from May 9-11. After this weekend's competitions, WIU will take a break until April 13 when they attend the SIUE Cougar Classic. They will then compete in Iowa at the Musco Twilight meet on April 20 and remain there for the Drake Relays from April 25-27. Their regular season concludes on May 3 at the Iowa State Alumni Open.

Reflecting on their indoor season that concluded on February 22, Western Illinois saw strong performances from both teams. The women's team finished third overall with 78 points—marking their best finish since scoring 122.5 points in 2007—and securing third place for the first time since that year as well. On the men's side, Western Illinois placed fifth with a total of 48 points—the highest score since achieving 78 points back in 2014—while Little Rock claimed victory with a score of 180 points.