Drake Relays victory part of incredible resume Colley putting together while running for WIU

MACOMB, Ill. — Ackeen Colley made history at the Drake Relays.

The Western Illinois University senior track standout has a habit of creating historic moments.

A Jamaican native, Colley was named the Summit League’s Most Outstanding Championship Performer at last year’s indoor championships when he set a league record in the 800-meter run with his winning time of 1 minute, 48.61 seconds. He also ran legs on WIU’s distance medley relay team, which won a Summit League title, and the 4×400 relay, which took third.

He lowered that time to 1:48.56 when he finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors.

Then two weekends ago, running in the most prestigious outdoor event in the nation, Colley won the 800 at the Drake Relays in 1:48.57, becoming the first WIU male athlete to win a title at the Drake Relays since Derek Huff won the decathlon in 1986.

The WIU track program hadn’t won an individual title — male or female — since Jennifer Gibson won the shot put in 2006.

“It was the easiest 1:48 I’ve ever seen in my life,” WIU coach Trey Brokaw said. “With better winds and a little more competition, Ackeen might be able to run 1:45 in the next few weeks. I’m so happy for him and couldn’t be prouder of the way he’s represented this University and track & field program as a student-athlete.”

Colley is as much a student as he is an athlete, possibly more when you consider the time he’s invested into the nursing program.

“It’s one of the most rigorous programs on campus,” Brokaw said.

Colley has days where he has to drive to Springfield to work a 12-hour clinical shift and then drive back to Macomb, leaving little time for training.

“As working out goes, we’re not going to get a lot of quality work done after that,” Brokaw said. “So his training schedule really is secondary to his academic schedule.”

A personal tragedy drove Colley to pursue nursing. In 2010, he broke his arm so severely doctors thought amputation was a possibility.

“So I spent like a year and three months back and forth to the hospital trying to get it worked on,” Colley said. “And I was really inspired by how the doctors and the nurses took care of me. It’s definitely the nursing aspect of my broken arm that inspires me. Those nurses really had a huge impact on me. And I’m pretty grateful for what they have done for me.”

The challenges growing up in Jamaica fueled his drive to achieve success.

“I mean, growing up in Jamaica, things weren’t the best,” Colley said. “So I learned from an early, early age how to balance my life, you know, like, I can’t really mix business with pleasure. Like school is business. Track is business. So I tried to separate that from outside activities. I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary, except track and school for the past two years since I’m here in Macomb.”

Running track and chasing professional and Olympic dreams could be in Colley’s future.

Nursing definitely is.

“I mean, I think for me, nursing and track go hand in hand,” Colley said. “And that’s why it’s so hard to (choose) because I really can’t prioritize either one of those. I really enjoy running, competing, you know, meeting my competitors. … The same thing with nursing. I like talking to patients, taking care of people.

“At this point, I’m really not sure what avenue I’m going to go down. I’m just going with the flow day by day. My heart will lead me somewhere.”