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Russell Hons

Colley and Brown Bring Home Medals In Conference Championships

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

A first place finish in the 800m by Ackeen Colley and third place by Richard Brown highlighted the indoor championships.

GRAND FORKS, N.D.- Western Illinois track and field concluded its indoor season with Summit League Indoor Championships on Saturday (Feb. 26). The men's team took sixth place, while the women took eighth. Full results from the indoor championships can be viewed here.
 
"From a team perspective, this was an incredibly humbling weekend for our program. Based on how small our roster is, we knew that it would be tough to score many points," said Head Coach Trey Brokaw. "Our middle distance men competed very well in the 800, distance medley relay, and 4 x 400 relay. We didn't have representation in about 40 percent of the events. Events where we did have representation, we didn't perform at the level we were hoping. As director of the program, I have to do a better job preparing the assistant coaches and student-athletes to be successful in a championship meet."
 
The top performances for Western Illinois came in the 800m, led by back-to-back 800m champion Ackeen Colley. Colley took first place for the second straight season with a time of 1:48.83. This comes after he broke the Summit League record the day before in the preliminaries with a time of 1:48.41.
 
"Ackeen really set the tone for this weekend. His confidence and elite athleticism seem to be contagious. Leading into the conference meet this weekend, he had little time to work out, sleep, or even eat so he could complete his critical nursing program exams," said Trey Brokaw. "It's a disappointment that he didn't qualify for the NCAA Championships this year, but we did everything we could to achieve that goal. Sometimes we come up short of our goals and that's okay; the focus is now on outdoor nationals. Interestingly, his new personal best of 1:47.98, which he set last week at Notre Dame, would have ranked him seventh in the NCAA last year. The performances this indoor season in the NCAA have been incredible, and so we need to find a way to take it to another level outdoors for him."
 
Not far behind Colley was Richard Brown taking third place with a time of 1:50.79, and Lucas Hofer taking sixth with a time of 1:52.75. Both men finished two spots better in the final event than in the preliminaries on Friday.
 
The 800m wasn't the only event Western Illinois took home a medal in. The men's DMR team of Colley on the 1200m, Brown on the 400m, Hofer on the 800m, and Isaiah Mooreman on the 1600m took third place with a time of 10:10.85. The time stands as the eighth fastest in program history.
 
The 4x400 relay team of Brown, Colley, Hofer, and Kenyon'TA Skinner just missed out on a medal but still took fourth place with a time of 3:16.71.
 
"Richard Brown and Lucas Hofer struggled at times early this indoor season, but I was so proud of the way they rebounded and finished the season strong. Both men, along with Isaiah Mooreman and Kenyon'TA Skinner, did an exceptional job on the relays," said Trey Brokaw.
 
However, the men's DMR team wasn't the only ones to get in the record books this weekend. The women's DMR team of Maleigha Huston on the 1600m, Madison Trevena on the 1200m, Kristina Petrou on the 800m, and Zwandi Harrison on the 400m, ended with the seventh-fastest time in school history at 12:20.05. The time helped the squad take fifth back on Friday.
 
With the indoor season concluded, track and field will shift their attention to the outdoor season. The Leathernecks will have another eleven weeks to train for the Summit League Outdoor Championships. The first indoor season for Head Coach Trey Brokaw is in the books, and the program looks to be continuing the be on the rise under his leadership.
 
"I'm proud to lead this program and I love the student-athletes on the team. They're a great group to work with and I know they can do better than what we saw this weekend," said Trey Brokaw. "I'm excited about the recruiting class we've assembled so far, with many more talented recruits close to making their decisions. With continued development of the current student-athletes, and great recruiting, it won't take us long to get to the level we want to be at. I look forward to the day where Western Illinois track & field can once again be a well-balanced, confident, championship caliber team. I'm sure it will be a team that the alumni and community of Macomb can be proud of."
 
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