Leatherneck women third, men fifth at OVC Outdoor Meet

Saturday, May 11, 2024 | By: WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Adams Named Female Athlete of the Meet

The Western Illinois men and women had a strong showing at the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Meet over the weekend. The Leatherneck women finished third, scoring 114 points. The men finished in a tie for fifth, scoring 55 points.

"What an amazing group of assistant coaches and student-athletes," WIU coach Trey Brokaw said. "It has been such an honor to lead this program over the past three years and I love the team culture we have created together. We didn't win today in the team scores but I think we all won by making lifelong relationships. I will miss everyone very much. With continued hard work and dedication, the future of Western Illinois track and field is still very bright."

The third-place finish is the best for the women since finishing third in 2006. The 114 points are also the most since 2006 when WIU scored 180. The 55 points for the men are the most since scoring 73 in 2015.

"It's hard to mention anyone specific because we had so many exceptional performances," Brokaw said. "Arnie, Jasmine, Aliyah, Logan, Aylana, and Renee all won their individual events. That's very special, especially for the seniors. We had many second-place finishes as well; Maleigha, Aliyah in the long jump, and Sophia was second in both hurdle races. Arnie set a conference record in the pole vault. Logan nearly set a conference record in the steeplechase. It was a very special weekend. A lot of smiles, a lot of tears, a lot of emotion, and I think that's a good thing because it shows people cared about their performances.

"We have a talented group of assistant coaches. Tom and Alena made a huge impact on Arnie setting that conference record. Alena led a great group of hurdlers as well. Bartul led Jasmine to a conference title in the hammer throw. Rob and his jump squad have dominated the conference since he started here at WIU. What a fun group to work with and I am so happy they experienced all their success this weekend with the student-athletes."

One athlete who did have a special weekend was Aliyah Adams. Adams earned Female Athlete of the Championships with a win in the triple jump, a second in the long jump, a third in the 100 hurdles, and running a leg on the fourth-place 4x400 relay team.

THURSDAY
HAMMER
Jasmine Stokes started the meet off the right way for the Leathernecks, bringing home the first gold of the event.
In her final collegiate performance, Stokes set a new personal-best mark with a best toss of 184-0 feet. Stokes' effort gave her the top mark in the event and placed her fifth in program history. Stokes' effort was dominant, winning the event by nearly 10 feet.

WOMEN'S LONG JUMP
If there was an event that belonged to the Leathernecks, it was the women's long jump. Renee Raglin and Aliyah Adams gave the Leathernecks 18 points in the event, finishing first and second.

Raglin had a best leap of 20 feet, 4.5 inches to win the event. Adams was right behind her, finishing second with a best of 19-09.5.

Both hit their distances on their first attempts.

MEN'S POLE VAULT
Arnie Grunert proved he is not only the best pole vaulter in Western Illinois men's history, but now can make the claim he is the best in Ohio Valley Conference history.

Grunert set the standard for the league, clearing a conference meet record height of 17 feet, 2.5 inches. Grunert claimed his title by nearly a foot. Grunert's height topped the league's previous top mark by half an inch.

Matthew Thomas gave the Leathernecks a second scorer in the event. Thomas finished eighth overall, clearing 13-10.25.

MEN'S LONG JUMP
In the men's long jump, Western Illinois received another multi-scoring performance.

Toriano Tate led the Leatherneck charge, finishing sixth overall with a best effort of 23-06.25. Cage Davison gave WIU another point, finishing eighth with a best leap of 23-04.75.

WOMEN'S 10,000
In the women's 10,000 meters, Madison Trevena was able to have a big night for the Leathernecks on Thursday. Trevena covered the 10k in 37:11.99. Trevena's time earned her sixth place in the meet.

MEN'S 10,000
In the men's 10,000, the Leathernecks added a pair of top-eight finishes to their point total.

Robert Perry ran a personal record on Thursday night, finishing sixth with a time of 31:38.49. Logan Beckmier was two spots and seven seconds behind, crossing in 31:45.47 to close out Western Illinois' Thursday performances.

FRIDAY
DECATHLON
In the men's decathlon, Matthew Thomas completed his two-day run at the meet in seventh place, scoring a pair of points for the Leathernecks.
Thomas scored 5882 points overall, with his best finishes coming in the 500, pole vault, and 110 hurdles, all fourth-place finishes.

WOMEN'S POLE VAULT
In the women's pole vault, the Leathernecks had four athletes score points.

Freshman Dana Surwillo led the way, with a personal-best effort of 11-10.5. The height moved Surwillo into eighth all-time in program history and gave her a fourth-place finish in the meet.

Paulina Lucer and Emma Ponx were two spots back, tying for sixth. The WIU duo each cleared 11-04.5. Colleen Johnson gave the Leathernecks another point, finishing eighth with a best height of 11-04.5 as well.

MEN'S HIGH JUMP
In the men's high jump, Alessandro Belluz scored for the Leathernecks Friday night. Belluz cleared a best height of 6-04.75, good for sixth place overall and three points. Belluz cleared the height on his first attempt.

MEN'S 3000 STEEPLECHASE
Logan Lommel added another title to his long list of accomplishments, winning the OVC men's 3000 steeplechase on Friday night.
The race was tight the entire way until Lommel used an overpowering finishing kick in the last 50 meters to pull away for the win, crossing the finish line in 8:59.73.

WOMEN'S 3000 STEEPLECHASE
In the women's 3000 steeplechase, Aylana Cezar hung out near the front and then took the race at the very end.
Cezar took control of the race near the midway point, then coasted to a seven-second win. Cezar made her move a little over halfway into the race, then easily outpaced her foes to the finish.

SATURDAY
WOMEN'S TRIPLE JUMP
Aliyah Adams successfully started the day for the Leathernecks, winning the women's triple jump. Adams had the best leap of 42 feet, 6.75 inches. Adams' effort placed her second in the Leatherneck record book.

MEN'S TRIPLE JUMP
Alessandro Belluz also was able to get the Leathernecks a point, finishing eighth. Belluz had a leap of 47-7.25

WOMEN'S JAVELIN
Cadence Stanley also scored WIU a point, finishing eighth with a best toss of 112-4.

TRACK EVENTS
WOMEN'S 1500 FINAL
In the women's 1500, Maleigha Huston and Aylana Cezar each scored for WIU.
Huston finished fourth, crossing in 4:35.69. Cezar was a few spots back, finishing sixth in 4:41.46.

MEN'S 1500 FINAL
Logan Lommel gave WIU another strong effort, this time in the men's 1500. Lommel finished fifth, crossing in 3:54.75.

WOMEN'S 100 HURDLES
Sophia Myers moved into third all-time in program history in the 100 hurdles, finishing second. Myers crossed the finish line at 13.75. Adams was right behind her, finishing third in 13.99. Adam's effort moves her into sixth all-time.

WOMEN'S 100
Savannah Harvey gave Western Illinois an eighth-place finish in the 100, crossing the line in 12.01.

WOMEN'S 800
Maleigha Huston added another strong performance on Saturday, finishing second in the 800. Huston was near the front for the bulk of the race, settling in for a runner-up at 2:15.36.

MEN'S 800
In the men's 800, WIU scored twice as Richard Brown and Isaac Jones each finished in the top eight. Brown was fourth, finishing in 1:53.45 while Jones was seventh in 1:54.38.

WOMEN'S 400 HURDLES
Myers added another strong performance, finishing second in the 400 hurdles. Myers crossed in 1:02.5. to earn another silver.

WOMEN'S 5000
Madison Trevena gave Western Illinois another strong scoring performance, finishing sixth in the 5K. Trevena crossed in 17:51.62

MEN'S 5000
In the men's 5000, both Logan Lommel and Robert Perry scored for WIU.
Lommel was fourth overall, finishing in 14:53.37 while Perry was eighth in 15:03.07.

WOMEN'S 4X400
In the 4x400, the team of Nakeita Kessling, Aliyah Adams, Sophia Myers, and Briza Dure scored five points, finishing fourth. The foursome crossed the finish line in 3:50.60.

MEN'S 4X400
In the final event of the day, the Leathernecks had one final scoring performance as the 4x400 team was sixth.
The group of Robert Brown, Jaiden Young, Isaac Jones, and Mohammed Baghati finished sixth in 3:17.26.
The Leathernecks now wait to see who qualifies for the NCAA West Region in two weeks.

Gallery: (5-9-2024) OVC Outdoor Track and Field Meet

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