Panthers Post Six Wins At Big Blue Classic

CHARLESTON, Ill. - Battling windy conditions on Friday afternoon Eastern Illinois was able to overcome the elements as the Panthers collected six wins on the opening day of the 2010 Big Blue Classic. EIU will continue action in their own meet on Saturday morning at O'Brien Field. 

The EIU men picked up two individual wins and one team win on Friday. In the pole vault Dorrian White and Scott Mammoser both cleared 15'7.25" with White taking home first place honors based on number of jumps while Mammoser was second. 

In the 400m hurdles the EIU men claimed the top three spots withChad Aubin leading the way at 53.13. Preston Smith was second at 53.83 followed by Patrick Tortorici in third position at 54.29. The men's 4x800 relay team picked up the final Friday win with a time of 7:39.00. 

The women's 4x800 relay team picked up a win with a time of 9:28.52 as they collected one of three Panther first place finishes on the women's side. Elizabeth Dole had a first place finish in the 10,000 meter run for EIU at 39:21.70. She was just ahead of teammateBrittany Arthur who was second at 39:28.10. 

The final first place finisher for the EIU women was Jaimee Roy in the long jump as she posted a wind aided 18'11.25". That mark landed her 10th on the EIU career list. Jill MacEachen was second in the long jump at 17'09.50. Abigail Schmitz also joined the EIU career top ten with a third place showing in the pole vault as her mark of 11'00.25" moved into fourth all-time at EIU. 

Other top performances on the women's side included Caitlin Finneganin second place in the 400m hurdles at 1:02.49, Kandace Arnold was second in the shot put at 49'6.50" and Jaimee Phegley was second in the javelin at 107'04". 

On the men's side additional top performances were turned in byBradley LaRocque with a second in the 10,000m at 32:44.61, Graham Morris was second in the steeplechase at 10:07.69, Tyler Carter was second in the long jump at 23'8" and Sean Hopkins placed second in the decathlon.