Leathernecks Have Big Weekend at Pair of Meets

Saturday, January 27, 2024 | By: WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

The Western Illinois track and field team participated in a pair of meets over the weekend, as the heptathletes and pentathletes were at Central College on Thursday and Friday while the bulk of the team was at Iowa on Saturday.

At Central, Cadence Stanley finished seventh in the pentathlon, scoring 2377 points. Stanley's best effort came in the shot put, where her distance of 38 feet, 4.25 inches was second. She also tied for third in the high jump with a best of four feet, 9.75 inches.

In the men's heptathlon, Matthew Thomas finished fifth overall, scoring 4586 points. Thomas' best performance was a second-place finish in the 60 hurdles, clocking in at 8.67.

On Saturday in Iowa City, it was another day to change the Leatherneck record book.

Things started quickly as Mya Hippolyte ran a personal best and the ninth-fastest 60 meter time in program history, putting up a time of 7.74, tying Sally Hines time in 1978. Hippolyte's time saw her finish the 60 meters in fourth overall. Savannah Harvey was sixth in the event, clocking in at 7.78 while Briza Dure was ninth in 7.79.

Jaiden Young also made his mark, finishing third in the men's 400 Premier. Young's time of 48.71 is now the fourth-fastest time in program history.

In the men's 600, John Hunt finished sixth overall, clocking in at 1:24.98. Jeremie Bokata was eighth, finishing in 1:26.57.

Passion Crews had a pair of top-10 finishes, running a PR in the women's 600, clocking in at 1:40.94, good for seventh. Crews added a ninth in the 400, finishing in 59.74.

In the women's 800, Hannah Steinmeyer ran a personal record, finishing third with a time of 2:18.94. Meg Simmons added a sixth in the 800, finishing with a time of 2:23.52.

The mile had a pair of big performances. Logan Lommel ran the event in 4:11.88, good for fourth. For the women, Maleigha Huston finished in third in 4:57.76. The time was not only a PR for Huston but also the seventh-fastest in program history.

In the field, Karlee Zumstein had a PR in the high jump, clearing 5-1, good for seventh. In the long jump, Renee Raglin had a PR and a top-10 finish, leaping 18-4.25, good for fifth.

In the men's long jump, Toriano Tate had his season best, leaping a second-place finish 24-5. Tate's leap puts him in fifth in program history.

In the women's pole vault, Emma Ponx set a new personal-best with a best height of 12-3.5. Ponx's effort earned fifth place. The height is the fifth-best for the Leatherneck track and field program.

In the men's triple jump, Alessandro Belluz finished fourth with a leap of 44-6.25.

In the women's 3000, Aylana Cezar and Faith Procopio gave the Leathernecks a pair of top-10 meet performances. Cezar was fifth overall, finishing in 10:31.85 while Procopio was eighth in 10:47.05.

In the men's 3000, Logan Beckmier ran a PR of 8:44.00. Beckmier's time was for seventh at the meet.

In the women's 4x400 relay, the team of Nakeita Kesling, Huston, Jolena Site and Dure finished third in 4:01.38. In the men's 4x400 relay, the Leathernecks finished fourth in 3:23.34 behind Young, Isaac Jones, Lommel and Mohammed Baghati.

In the men's pole vault, Arnie Grunert's shot at a new school record few just short, as he had a best of 16-7.25. Grunert made attempts at what would be an indoor record, shooting for 17-1, falling short of his own program best of 16-9.5. Grunert ended the meet in seventh.

Jaiden Young and Toriano Tate's marks from today rank them second in the OVC this season so far. Maleigha Huston's mile time ranks her first in the OVC this season so far and was just 4.76 seconds away from Patty Murray's mile school record set in the late 80's.

"We were a little disjointed coming off of Christmas break but the team performed much better today," coach Trey Brokaw said. "We're in the middle of heavy training; having multiple athletes across multiple event groups nearly breaking school records is impressive. Maleigha and Logan nearly broke school records in the mile. Arnie and Emma had some great attempts at school record marks in the pole vault. It was great to see Toriano back to full strength, nearly jumping a lifetime best in the long jump. Renee Raglin and Mya Hippolyte, two star transfers who joined us this past fall, looked really strong today. It's all coming together at the right time. Most importantly we are healthy heading into high powered competitions at Louisville and Notre Dame next weekend."

Western Illinois faces another double meet weekend next week. On Friday, Western Illinois is at the PNC Bank Classic at Bellarmine University in Louisville. The Leathernecks are also at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame next Friday and Saturday.

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