Arnold, Brooks Lead EIU At ISU Invite

Panthers place second in Terre Haute

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Dodging some early afternoon rains Eastern Illinois men's and women's track both finished second at the Indiana State Invite held Saturday in Terre Haute. Kandace Arnold was dominant for the EIU women while freshman DeMarcus Brooks was solid for the Panther men.

Arnold swept three throwing events moving up the EIU career record book in one event and hitting the NCAA Regional qualifying mark for the second straight week in another. Arnold won the hammer throw with a distance of 160'09" which moved her into second place all-time at EIU. She already holds the career marks for the shot put and discus, the two other events she swept. Arnold won the discus at 146'05" while her winning shot put distance of 47'05.75" passed the NCAA regional mark for the second time this year.

Brooks running in his first outdoor sprints of his EIU career won the 100m and 200m dash. His time in the 100m was 10.56 which landed in sixth place on the EIU career list. He won the 200m in a time of 21.34 which hit the NCAA Regional qualifying mark.

Shawana Smith and Jaimee Phegley picked up the only other EIU first place finishes for the women. Smith won the 200m dash in a time of 25.01. Phegley won the javelin with a toss of 105'09". Smith also placed second in the 100m run at 12.44.

Brenton Pegues, Clint Coffey and Patrick Tortorici all led one-two finishes for the Panther men in track events to give EIU a total of five first place finishers. Pegues won the 400m run in 48.15. Coffey was first in the 800m at 1:52.20 and Tortorici was first in the 400m hurdles at 52.90.

Tyler Carter, Marcus Williams, Jason Springer and Kris Gehrke all placed second in running events behind EIU champions. Carter was second in the 200m run, Williams second in the 400m run, Springer second in the 800m and Gehrke second in the 400m hurdles.

In men's field events Ian Winston and Anurag Palekar both grabbed second place finishes. Winston was second in the high jump at 6'06.25" while Palekar was second in the long jump at 21'08.75"

Four female EIU athletes also picked up second place finishes. Tarra Grant was second in the 400m and Queenie Adeboyej was second in the triple jump. Megan Gingerich was second in both the 800m and high jump. She tied for second in the high jump with Nicole Walcott who also placed second in the shot put for the Panthers.

Indiana State won the men's event with 228 points followed by EIU with 177, SIU Edwardsville with 81 and Loyola-Chicago with 52. ISU won the women's meet with 224.50 points with EIU second with 178.50 points. SIU Edwardsville scored 98 and Loyola-Chicago 59.

Eastern Illinois returns to action next Thursday as they host the Big Blue Classic and Neil Moore Multi's at O'Brien Field.