KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan track and field team will split up this weekend for a pair of meets on Saturday. The distance group will join the sprints, hurdles and jumps squad at the Wolverine Invite, while the throws unit will head to Aquinas College for the John Flaminio Classic.
TESS SHINES IN SEASON DEBUT
After a strong sophomore season in 2023-24,
Tess Van Dyk showed no signs of slowing down for the 2024-25 campaign. In her season debut back in December, Van Dyk was dominant in the shot put, posting a throw of 14.79 meters. That was good for fifth in program history.
The promising junior thrower now has a top-10 mark in program history in both the indoor and outdoor record books. Along with her shot put mark in indoor, she holds the 10th best discus mark in the outdoor record book.
WMU DEBUTS
The Broncos had a pair of debuts to open the indoor season last month, welcoming
Jade Celestine and
Reagan Viau to the team. Celestine is a transfer from Akron and competed in the 60-meter hurdles at the GVSU Holiday Open. She qualified for the finals and posted a time of 9.00.
Viau joins the team as a freshman and made her college debut in the 800-meter run. She was able to collect a time of 2:32.23 at the GVSU Holiday Open.
RETURNING TALENT
The Broncos have a wealth of talent returning from last year's team, but
Sandra Ferrari,
Mabinty Kebe,
Bri'Yanna Robinson and
Lillian Zelasko highlight the group of returners. Ferrari was a First Team All-MAC honoree and named the MAC Freshman Field Performer of the Year at last year's Indoor MAC Championships. She won the 60-meter hurdles and finished second in the long jump at the meet. She was also an NCAA Regional qualifier during outdoor season.
Kebe was a Second Team All-MAC honoree, as she finished as the runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles at the MAC Championships. Kebe was also an NCAA Regional qualifier in outdoor season. Robinson returns for another season after rewriting the record book last year. She owns the program record for shot put in indoor and outdoor.
Zelasko was a standout distance runner, competing at the USATF U20 Championships as a freshman last season. She also posted a career-best 10K time of 35:33.48 at the MAC Championships. She was Second Team All-MAC and an All-Region in cross country this season.
RECORD BREAKERS
Last season was a special one for Bronco track and field, as the program rewrote the record book for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. In every meet last season, Western Michigan had at least one top-10 time/mark in program history. That also led to four athletes being invited to the NCAA Regional meet in Kentucky and one advancing to the NCAA Championships in Oregon.
In total, WMU saw six new program records last season, including
Kayla Schiera in the 3K steeplechase. She went on to become a Second Team All-American.
WHO'S COMPETING? (Denotes PR)
60M DASH
Soniya Jones
Laurie-Ann Desormes
Mimi Joseph
60M HURDLES
Sandra Ferrari
Mabinty Kebe
Jade Celestine
Angel Pratt
200M DASH
Laurie-Ann Desormes
Sandra Ferrari
300M DASH
Angel Pratt
Mabinty Kebe
Jade Celestine
600M
Reagan Viau
Layla Wallace
800M
Ava Kurczewski
Lara Machado Pereira
ONE MILE
Lily Overton
Lara Machado Pereira
Lillian Zelasko
Madison Clor
3000M
Brooke Soper
Grace Aurand
Larissa McGrath
Lauren Sancrant
LONG JUMP
Anichka Malachi
Mimi Joseph
TRIPLE JUMP
Anichka Malachi
Sandra Ferrari
4x400 RELAY
Layla Wallace,
Jade Celestine,
Sandra Ferrari,
Mimi Joseph
Soniya Jones,
Anichka Malachi,
Ava Kurczewski,
Reagan Viau
SHOT PUT
Bri'Yanna Robinson
Tess Van Dyk
Lane Hagens
Kennedy Hagens
WEIGHT THROW
Bri'Yanna Robinson
Kennedy Hagens
Lane Hagens
