The Western Illinois track and field teams head to Fargo, North Dakota for the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 11-13, 2023. The Leathernecks are represented in 33 of 42 events with hopes of a high finish. In the 2022 competition, Western was represented in 19 of the 42 events available.
"We are prepared and excited for the weekend ahead. It's no secret that this meet hasn't gone well for us in recent history. I believe we have the potential for one of our highest team finishes in the past decade though," coach Trey Brokaw said. "Much like the indoor championships, we won't have the roster size to make a reasonable push for a conference title. The conference limits travel squads to 34 individuals per gender. We are traveling with just under 20 men and 20 women. With less opportunities to score points, it will be impossible to compete with the best programs in the conference who have a full team for the title."
The Leathernecks will have work to do but are slotted with top-12 rankings in 29 events. Translating as many of those rankings into the final top-8 (scoring) position will be the goal for Western Illinois as they strive for a top team finish in the past decade.
"Like a good basketball or football team, we have a few stars who will be expected to lead the team like they've done all year. A great team has role players as well and that's no different in the sport of track and field. If the individuals ranked 9-12 in their prospective events can find a way to place top-8 and score a few points, that will be huge for the team's success," Brokaw said. "During the indoor championships, we had quite a few men able to do that and we finished fifth as a team. Our women couldn't consistently find their way into the top-8 and that hurt our team score a lot. Both programs are in a better position this outdoor season and it should be fun to watch how they do this weekend in Fargo."
Student-Athletes Competing:
100 meter: Lucas Burmeister, Temira Goods, Alexis Ellison
200 meters: Lucas Burmeister, Zion Caruthers, Aliyah Adams, Briza Dure, Temira Goods, Alexis Ellison
400 meters: Zion Caruthers, Briza Dure, Zwandi Harrison, Nakeita Kessling
800 meters: Richard Brown, Lucas Hofer, John Hunt, Isaac Jones, Caleb Ware, Maleigha Huston
1500 meters: Logan Lommel, Caleb Ware, Aylana Cezar, Krissy Petrou, Paulina Wuestefeld
5000 meters: Logan Lommel, Olin Ortiz, Robert Perry, Faith Procopio, Madison Trevena, Paulina Wuestefeld
10,000 meters: Olin Ortiz, Robert Perry, Madison Trevena, Paulina Wuestefeld
110 meter hurdles: Zachary Taylor
400 meter hurdles: Zachary Taylor
3000 m. steeplechase: Logan Lommel, Isaiah Moorman, Aylana Cezar
Long jump: Alessandro Belluz, Toriano Tate, Aliyah Adams, Alexis Ellison, Yoanny Espinoza, Nakeita Kessling
Triple jump: Alessandro Belluz, Toriano Tate, Aliyah Adams, Nakeita Kessling, Yoanny Espinoza
High jump: Alesandro Belluz, Mia Harris, Cadence Stanley
Pole vault: Arnie Grunert, Nino Romeo, Emma Ponx
Javelin throw: Shardenai Davis, Juliana Schmidt, Cadence Stanley
4x100 meters: TBD, TBD
4x400 meters: TBD, TBD
