Track Resumes Season At Illini Classic

Following the holiday break on the Eastern Illinois University campus, the EIU indoor track & field teams will begin the 2016 season as they compete in the Illini Classic this weekend in Champaign, Illinois. The Illini Classic is set as a two-day event this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 15-16). Live results during the meet are available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/illinois/track/?

EIU CLAIMS FIVE FIRST PLACE FINISHES TO BEGIN THE SEASON
The EIU track & field teams opened their indoor season last month (Dec. 11) at the EIU Early Bird Meet.  As a whole, the men's & women's teams took home a combined five first place finishes and seven second place finishes. Haleigh Knapp (high jump), Amy Yeoman (800-meter run), Michael Brown (800-meter run), Riley Kittridge (shot put), and Davion McManis (long jump) were the first place finishers for the Panthers.

The EIU men finished the meet in second place overall out of the six competing teams with a final score of 136 total points. The EIU women also had a positive showing with their third place finish out of the eight team field as they ended with 100 total points.

KNAPP JUMPS TO NEW HEIGHTS
During the EIU Early Bird Meet, Knapp became the new record holder for the Eastern Illinois program in high jump. The sophomore cleared a height of 5'10.50" which tied Illinois' Kandie Bloch-Jones for the best top performance in the event. Knapp is currently tied for the sixth best mark in NCAA Division I with Illinois' Bloch-Jones and Barbara Vilson of Middle Tennessee State.

ABOUT THE ILLINI CLASSIC
The Illini Classic is set to be a two-day event, with the lone event on Friday night being the weight throw that is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. The remaining field events including shot put, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and high jump will resume on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m.

The running events for the Illini Classic are set to begin at approximately 3 p.m.  The running events will include the 60-meter hurdles and dash, mile, 400-meter dash, 600-meter dash, 800-meter run, 200-meter dash, 3000-meter run, and conclude with the 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relays.

Last season the EIU men finished in third place overall in an eight-team field, while the women placed third overall out of 10 total teams.

FOLLOWING THE ILLINI CLASSIC
Following the Illini Classic, the EIU indoor track & field teams will host the John Craft Invite in the Lantz Fieldhouse on January 23.