Panther Track Repeats As Indoor Champions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Make it two straight Ohio Valley Conference indoor track and field championships for the Eastern Illinois men's and women's programs as the Panthers were repeat champions following the final day of the 2010 OVC championships.  The two-day meet was held at the Wilma Rudolph Track at the Gentry Center on the campus of Tennessee State.

Senior Kandace Arnold was named the OVC Female Athlete of the Championships while head coach Tom Akers as the Coach of the Year.

The EIU women won scoring 142 points while Eastern Kentucky was runner-up with 128.  The Panther men won scoring 178 points followed by Southeast Missouri in second place with 150.5 points.  This marked the third overall indoor OVC title for the EIU women and 12th OVC indoor title for the EIU men.

The Panther men rallied from sitting in third place following the opening day of the meet with several strong finishes on the track. Jacob Mitchell won the 55m dash in a time of 6.38 while Darren Patterson, the OVC Indoor Track Male Athlete of the Year, won the 200m in a time of 21.79.

EIU placed first and second in the 55m hurdles with Lamarr Pottinger first at 7.59 followed by Tyler Carter in second. EIU swept the top four spots in the 800m with Sean Wiggan first, Justin Stewart second, Wes Sheldon third and Mike Connolly fourth. Marcus Williams was a second place finisher in the 400m.

In men’s field events EIU won the pole vault with Scott Mammoser winning with a height of 15’6”. Dorrian White was second. Ian Winston scored points with a second place finish in the triple jump.

The Panther men capped the championship with a first place finish in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:14.51. Wiggan, Sheldon, Patterson and Williams comprised the winning squad.

The women’s side was won with a strong mixture of finishes in sprints, distance races and field events. Arnold led the Panthers as she surpassed the 60 foot mark in winning the weight throw. Arnold cleared 61’0.75” in the weight throw. On Friday night she had won the shot put hitting the NCAA Indoor Provisional mark at 50’6”.

Chandra Golden, the OVC co-Female Athlete of the Year, placed second in the 55m hurdles with a time of 8.00. Megan Gingerich became a dual event winner on Saturday placing first in the 800m run as she edged Taylor Crawford of Murray State by five hundredths of a second. Gingerich won the high jump on Friday evening.

Senior Erin O’Grady capped her senior indoor OVC career with a pair of solid finishes. She was second in the mile run with a time of 5:10.55 while winning the 300m at 10:23.20. Queenie Adeboyejo won the triple jump with a mark of 39’1.75”.

The women’s 4x400 relay team closed out the championship winning the race with a time of 3:52.56. Emily Quinones, Caitlin Finnegan, Gingerich and Bridget Sanchez comprised the winning team.