The Western Illinois track and field teams competed at the historic Drake Relays this past weekend, while also taking advantage of the Kip Janvrin Invite in conjunction with the Drake Relays. The Leathernecks had a meet filled with breakthrough performances including a Drake Relays win, school record and NCAA DI Regional qualifying mark.
The Leathernecks string of personal best performances started on Thursday with every event group. Logan Lommel highlighted the evening by breaking the 50-year old school record in the 3000 meter steeplechase. The previous record was held by Mike Novak, set in 1973. The Thursday sprints competition was highlighted by freshman Lucas Burmeister running 21.34 in the 200 meter dash. Burmeister's time marks him as the sixth-fastest Leatherneck all-time in the event. For the women's side, Paulina Wuestefeld stole the show. On Thursday night alone Wuestefeld ran the third fastest all-time in the 1500 meters, and the sixth fastest all-time mark in the 5000 meters.
"It was a great team effort for us this weekend. Our men's team set the tone early with Logan Lommel breaking one of our oldest school records, the steeplechase, on Thursday night," coach Trey Brokaw said. "His transition from the WIU soccer program has been a successful one, with Logan now holding a school record in five different events in cross country and track & field. He's a really tough competitor and our men's team captain for a reason. When the stakes are the highest, he's at his best.
"Paulina Wuestefeld also had an impressive Thursday evening with the 1500 and 5000 meter double," Brokaw added. "It was the most aggressive I've ever seen her run. Paulina has been gaining confidence each week and I believe she is poised to have an incredible finish to her Leatherneck career this spring."
Friday's competition at the Kip Janvrin Open's spotlight was Richard Brown running a personal best time in the 800 meters. Brown's time of 1:48.28 improves his own second all-time mark as well as qualifies him to the NCAA West Regional Championships, where Brown will compete to make the national meet.
"Richard Brown had the best race of his career, running 1:48.29 in a loaded 800 meter field. It's by far the best I've ever seen him race," said coach Brokaw. "When Richard's mental preparation matches up with his physical preparation, the sky's the limit. He will be exciting to watch the rest of the outdoor season."
Friday field events had the Leatherneck student-athletes at the top of the podium. Toriano Tate and Alessandro Belluz went 1-2 in the men's long jump and triple jump. Belluz also added a win in the high jump. Freshmen Aliyah Adams and Nakeita Kessling went 1-2 in the women's triple jump.
"Coach Rob Tarpley has done a fantastic job with the jumps crew. He is always looking at the big picture and setting up his athletes to have breakthrough performances when it counts," Brokaw said. "They have a lot of potential for some big points at the Conference Championships in two weeks."
Saturday's weather turned bad for the main Drake Relays events with rain, wind and low temperatures. The Leathernecks were able to brave the conditions and put together some great relays. The main attraction was the Western men's sprint medley winning the entire event. The 200-200-400-800 relay had Zion Caruther, Lucas Burmeister, Richard Brown and Lucas Hofer walking away with the coveted Drake Relays white champion flags in hand.
"I was very proud of the way our student-athletes competed through the elements. Many teams laid down and gave up. We stepped up led by our distance medley relay teams. Logan Lommel and Isaac Jones had fantastic splits to cap off the weekend. Our men's and women's sprint medley teams were the relays we tried to load. Both teams competed very well and the men came away with the win in a talented field," Brokaw said. "We had numerous meet officials and fans mention how good it was to see the Leatherneck team back at Drake and competing well. Our weekend ended with a very impressive 4 x 400 meter relay race from our women. Briza Dure and Zwandi Harrison both had personal best split times."
The Leatherneck track and field teams found the momentum they were looking for from the Drake Relays weekend. They are looking forward to closing out the year strong at the Summit League Championships on May 11-13, 2023.
"Our team is so young, the culture is great, and I can't wait to see how these young men and women do in the years to come," says coach Brokaw. "For now our sights are set on the Summit League Championships in Fargo, North Dakota."
