Panthers finish second in first meet of season
Tuesday, December 15 2009 - EIU Early Bird
Winston hits NCAA provisional mark for high jump
Dan Cusack/Assistant Sports Editor
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"I thought we competed well," Eastern head coach Tom Akers said. "I was really pleased with the performances all across the board."
Senior jumper Ian Winston hit an NCAA provisional mark in the high jump but still finished second.
"I was expecting to reach provisional this season and it really felt great to do it," Winston said. "Coming into the season, I like to go seven feet or above, and now I want to go beyond what I did and get the automatic mark."
Winston - whose previous best jump was 6'10.25" - cleared 7'0.25" for the third best mark in the history of the school.
"We knew he would be jumping at that level some time this season, so I am very happy he was able to do it so early in the year," Akers said.
Senior thrower Kandace Arnold captured the school record in the shot put to finish first in the event. Arnold threw a mark of 49'7.25", which was better than her previous best of 48'3.50".
Senior hurdler Chandra Golden won both the 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles to get off to a hot start for the indoor season.
Golden edged Indiana State's Jaquelle Spencer as both sprinters finished with a time of 7.68 seconds, but a race decided by a photo finish. She won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.73 seconds.
Junior sprinter Darren Patterson won the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.10 and junior sprinter Marcus Williams won the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.47. Junior hurdler Preston Smith finished second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.80.
The 4x400 relay team won with a time of 3:21.57. Sophomore Sean Wiggan, sophomore Reid Basting, Patterson and Williams made up the first place squad.
A few other members of the women's team finished in the top two for individual events at the meet. Sophomore sprinter Bridget Sanchez finished second in the 400-meter run, while Megan Gingerich finished second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.52.
Athletes from Western Illinois, Northern Illinois, DePaul, Indiana State, Butler and Vincennes all participated in the meet. Both of Eastern's teams finished in second place behind Indiana State. The men finished with 183 points and the women finished with 159.50 points. Indiana States men's team finished with 211 points, while the women's team finished with 211.
"I think it was where I expected us to be at the season," Akers said. "I know the team is very excited with how we did. I am going to have to sit down and compare the results with where we were last year."
Winston said he feels this is a strong team that can go beyond conference because it is a deep team with a strong freshman class.
The meet was the only one for both teams before break.
The teams will compete again at the EIU Mega Meet Jan. 23 in Lantz Fieldhouse.
Dan Cusack can be reached at 581-7944 or dscusack@eiu.edu.