The WIU track and field teams split squads this past weekend, Feb. 3 - 4, 2023, between the Meyo Invite in South Bend, Indiana and the Keck Select in Bloomington, Illinois. The team found success at both meets by taking down two school records and hitting six other top-10 all-time performances.

The women's distance medley relay got the weekend started off right by breaking the 41 year old school record on Friday Night at the Meyo Invite. Madison Trevena, Briza Dure, Maleigha Huston and Paulina Wuestefeld broke the record by a narrow .24 seconds. The previous record was set in 1982 by P. Macklin, K. Taylor, J. Potts and C. Reid. 

"Our women's distance medley relay ran very well this weekend, breaking one of our oldest women's school records on Friday night. Every leg did their job, executed well, and they ran hard for each other. The relays are always fun because you see people dig a little deeper when they're competing for their teammates," coach Trey Brokaw said. "I was also happy to see how those girls doubled back in their main events the next day. Paulina (3,000) and Briza (400) ran new personal bests. Maleigha (800) and Maddie (3000) ran season bests." 

Saturday's performances were highlighted by Arnie Grunert jumping 5.00 meters (16 feet 4.75 inches) in the pole vault at the Keck Select. Grunerts jump broke the previous record of 4.91 meters (16 feet 1.25 inches) set by Andy Ryan in 2008.

"Arnie was one of the top ranked high school pole vaulters in the country last year as a senior at Lincoln Way East. He had some injury issues this fall so we had to make changes to his strength and conditioning plan. That has made a major difference and it's good to see him coming into form just before the conference championships," coach Brokaw said. "Coach Tom Unruh has done a fantastic job getting Arnie in a position to be successful and we look forward to seeing how Arnie does now that the school record goal has been accomplished. South Dakota has one of the best pole vault groups in the country. Despite only being a freshman, Arnie has the talent to go mix it up with those guys at the Summit League Championships and that will be exciting to watch."

Top-10 All-Time Performances This Weekend:

• Aliyah Adams moved up to tie for fourth all-time in the women's 60 meter hurdles running 8.90 seconds. Adams was previously ranked eighth with 9.03 seconds.

• Paulina Wuestefeld improved her fourth all-time mark in the 3000 meters by just over 1 second, running 9:52.65.

• Lucas Hofer ran the fifth best 800 all-time in 1:50.82. Hofer was previously ranked sixth in 1:52.52.

• The men's distance medley relay ran the sixth fastest all-time. The relay consisted of Richard Brown, Isaac Jones, Lucas Hofer, and Logan Lommel.

• Zion Caruthers became the seventh fastest all time in the men's 60 meters, running 7.01 seconds.

• Briza Dure ran the 10th fastest all-time 400 meters on an oversized track, running 58.76 seconds.

Next Up:

The Leathernecks head to Allendale, MI for the Grand Valley State Big Meet on Feb. 10 - 11, 2023.

"Grand Valley State has one of the biggest meets in the country this next weekend. It will be the last chance for many of our student-athletes to solidify their position in the conference rankings," said coach Brokaw. "Truthfully, rankings don't matter much but if an athlete can be ranked high I think it gives them a little more confidence heading into conference. Past performance is the best predictor of future performance. Regardless of where we stand in the rankings, we will always be looking to exceed expectations. That is the Western way."