Panthers seeking team titles

Friday, April 10 2009 - WIU Lee Calhoun

By: Bob Shaughnessy/Staff Reporter

Posted: 4/10/09

Last year the Eastern's men's and women's track and field teams did not come out with an outcome that they were expecting at compete the Western Illinois Lee Calhoun Classic in Macomb.

After winning both the men and women's events in 2006 and 2007, the Panthers finished second with the men's team and third with the women's team. Southern Illinois Edwardsville won both team titles.

The Panthers have a chance to take titles this weekend as they compete at the the Western Illinois Lee Calhoun Classic in Macomb. The event is set to kickoff at 4 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday.

"We are not worried about scoring over there. We are running a lot of our half-milers in the 400," said EIU head coach Tom Akers. "We are moving some people around so we are not really running are strongest team. We are going to compete and try and win it, but our lineup is not really what it would be if we were going after a championship."

Teams competing in the event will include Ashford, Augustana, Bradley, Chicago State, Illinois State, Iowa, St. Ambrose, and Western Illinois.

"Eastern Illinois is the favorite more so than Iowa, because they have a lot of depth, said Western Illinois head track and field coach Mike Stevenson in a press release.

One athlete who is looking forward to this event is junior thrower Kandace Arnold.

Arnold competed in the Lee Calhoun Classic last season and had three top-10 finishes. She won the shot put, took seventh in the discus and fifth in the hammer throw.

"My hammer (throw) has gotten a lot better, but I think I have a better chance in shot (put)," Arnold said.

Arnold is also coming off a personal best in shot put. Last week at the Big Blue Classic she had a toss of 48 feet, 6.25 seconds, which put her second on the Eastern all-time list. She now is chasing Valeta Strickland's throw of 49 feet, 5 inches for first all-time.

"I really want to get the indoor and outdoor shot (put) record," Arnold said. "That has been my main goal since I got here. Shot has been my main thing. I want to get an even 50."

The men will look for continued success from freshmen Zye Boey and DeMarcus Brooks.

Both men are the top Eastern runners in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Boey, who won Ohio Valley Conference Male Track Athlete of the Week, took first in both events with Brooks coming in a close second in both.

"We are both going to be regional qualifiers; I'm pretty sure because (Brooks) ran 10.36, and I ran a 10.33 so we are pretty much the same speed," Boey said. "It's good to have somebody like that on the team. We push each other, and hopefully, we both make regionals and then, hopefully, we both make the nationals.

Bob Shaughnessy can be reached at 581-7944 or at rrshaughnessy@eiu.edu.