Holm, Arnold Move Up Track Record Books

NASHVILLE - David Holm and Kandace Arnold both rocketed up the Eastern Illinois career record book on Saturday as the Panthers completed competition at the Vanderbilt Invitational.

 Holm picked up the lone EIU first place finish at the Vanderbilt Invite.  Holm won the 800 meter run with a time of 1:50.76 which was just off the NCAA Provisional Qualifying time 1:50.40.  The time also ranks third all time at Eastern Illinois.  Wes Sheldon was third in the 800 meters and Chris Wesson placed fifth.  Holm now only trails Jim Maton (1987) and Ken Jacobi (1971) on the career list with both of those runners posting a sub 1:50 time.

Arnold finished fifth in the discus with a very strong field but was able to make a huge leap on the EIU charts.  Arnold tossed the discus 144'02" which was seven feet better than her previous career mark.  Arnold moved up to second place on the Panther lists and now only trails Adrianne Lewchewski who set the record of 152' in 2005.

Kris Gehrke had a big day for the Panther men placing in the top six in two events.  Gehrke tied for second in the high jump with EIU teammate Ian Winston with both recording a jump of 6’04.75”.  Gehrke finished up his day with a sixth place finish in the 400 meter hurdles at 53.84.

Tyler Arnholt was also a top EIU field performer on Saturday with a seventh place finish in the discus.

On the women’s side Jenna Uhe continued her strong performances at the Vanderbilt Invite.  After finishing second in the javelin on Friday afternoon, Uhe placed fifth in the triple jump on Saturday.  Uhe’s mark was 38’10.25” which tied Capri Knox of Alabama for fifth.  Sarah Nambawa of Middle Tennessee State won with a jump of 43’01.50.  Uhe also placed 11th in the long jump.

Chandra Golden had the best day in running events for the EIU women.  Golden placed sixth in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.16.  It was just five tenths of a second off of her career best effort of 14.11.  Celriece Law of Tennessee won the event with a NCAA provisional time of 13.66.

Both the EIU men’s and women’s 4x400 relay teams posted top six finishes.  The men finished in fourth place with a time of 3:20.04.  The relay team consisted of Holm, Wesson, Preston Smith and Sheldon.  The women’s relay team placed sixth with a time of 3:52.24.  That relay team consisted of Meghan Carney, Tarra Grant, Violet Nwordu and Samantha Manto.

The Panthers also sent several runners to compete in the Wheaton College Twilight.  Alex Soto was the top finisher for the Panthers coming in seventh in the 800 meters.

EIU returns to action next week with a split squad.  Some Panther athletes will head to Iowa for the 99th annual Drake Relays.  The remaining EIU athletes will go east to Indianapolis for the Stan Lyons Invite hosted by Butler.