Track Crashes Into Record Book On Saturday

VANDERBILT INVITE RECAP

NASHVILLE - Eastern Illinois sent only a small contingent of athletes to compete in the Vanderbilt Invite but the group that did make the trip to the Music City crashed into the EIU record books including breaking a school record that had stood since 1987.

The men's 4x100 relay team set the school record with a winning time of 40.32 as Brandon Jelks, Darren Patterson, Jacob Mitchell and Zye Boey combined to establish the new school mark as they finished second in the event. The 4x400 relay team also posted a top ten mark as they were also second in their event but the time of 3:09.34 was good enough to land in second place on the school charts. The EIU women's 4x400 relay team placed first with a time of 3:49.36.

Individually the Panthers had an outstanding day in the 800m run. On the men's side the Panthers domisteeplewebd a very fast field. Jason Springer placed first at 1:50.37 followed by Sean Wiggan in second at 1:50.66 and Wes Sheldon in third at 1:51.17. David Holm was fifth at 1:51.74. Springer, Wiggan and Sheldon all had their times rank among the top ten at EIU with Springer landing in 3rd, Wiggan in 5th and Sheldon 8th. The women's 800m featured solid performances by Megan Gingerich and Meghan Carney. Gingerich was third at 2:07.55 while Carney was fourth at 2:12.69. Gingerich's time moved her up to second on the EIU career list while Carney moved into the top ten at No. 7.

The EIU women also turned in two top ten EIU career performances in the 400m hurdles. Caitlin Finnegan was first in the event winning with a time of 1:01.90 which ranks second on the Panthers career list. Andrea Fabiano was third in the event with her time of 1:02.81 ranking 8th all time at EIU. Finnegan would also place third in the 100m hurdles.

Other top performances on the men's side were turned in by Boey with a second place finish in the 100m at 10.53 and Marcus Williams was third in the 400m at 47.89.

SIUE GATEWAY CLASSIC RECAP

EDWARDSVILLE - With a select group of athletes competing at the Vanderbilt Invite the larger group that competed at the Gateway Classic hosted by SIU Edwardsville turned in a solid team effort as both the men and women claimed the team titles. During the event several athletes moved into the career top ten while another school record was set.

Ian Winston competing for the first time this season had a great performance to start his senior fall season as he placed first in the high jump winning with a jump of 7'0.50". The mark set the school record at EIU breaking the previous mark set in 1994. Winston became the first Panther athlete to ever clear the 7' plateau.

On the women's side senior Kandace Arnold also continued her dominant final outdoor season as she won the discus and shot put. Arnold extended both of her school records in those events winning the discus with a mark of 158'8" and the shot put at 52'1.75". Arnold became the first Panther to ever crack the 50' barrier in the shot put.

In the women's long jump freshman Jamiee Roy leaped up the career top ten list as she won the event with a mark of 19'9.50". That distance was second on the career list. Other first and second place field event finishes were turned in by Tyler Carter at second in the long jump at 22'3.50", Tyler Arnholt was first in the discus at 160'10", Justin Washington was second in the discus at 164'3" and Tiffany Beachy was first in the high jump at 5'1".

On the track Erin O'Grady and Olivia Klaus turned in top ten EIU career performances as they placed first and second in the Steeplechase. O'Grady won the event with a time of 11:05.04 which ranks third at EIU and Klaus was second with a time of 11:25.76 which ranks 6th at EIU.

Shawana Smith had a pair of wins capturing the 100m (12.02) and 200m (24.64) sprints. Bridget Sanchez was first in the 400m at 58.14 while Jill MacEachen and Brittney Arthur both had second place efforts. MacEachen was second in 400m hurdles at 1:07.36 while Arthur was second in the 5000m run at 18:40.29.

On the men's side freshman Graham Morris won the steeplechase with a time of 9:36.95. Carter was second in the 100m at 11.03 while Lamarr Pottinger was second in the 110m hurdles at 14.82. Preston Smith rounded out the top performances with a second place in the 400m hurdles at 53.39.