EIU Trio Earns OVC Weekly Honors

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Eastern Illinois senior thrower Janie Howse, junior distance runner Ivy Handley, and senior sprinter Christian Ilunga-Matthiesen earned Ohio Valley Conference weekly honors for indoor track & field. Howse was named as the OVC Female Field Athlete of the Week, Handley was named as the OVC Female Track Athlete of the Week, and Ilunga-Matthiesen was named the OVC Male Track Athlete of the Week. The trio earned their respective awards following their performances at the EIU Friday Night Special last weekend.

Howse finished with a pair of top 10 finishes at the Friday Night Special in the women's weight throw and shot put. Howse set a new personal mark in the weight throw with her toss of 62'01" to finish fourth in the event. The mark is first in EIU history and is second in the OVC this season. She also added an eighth place finish in the shot put with a mark of 43'02.50".

Handley cruised to a first place finish in the women's mile at the EIU Friday Night Special. She clocked a season-best time of 5:06.81 which ranks ninth in the OVC this year.

Ilunga-Matthiesen ended the competition with a pair of top five finishes at the Friday Night Special. He took first in the 60-meter dash with his time of 6.76. His time is a new personal best and ranks as the fastest in the OVC this season. It is also the ninth best at EIU all-time. He also finished in third place in the 200-meter dash with his time of 22.33.

Christian Locke of Southeast Missouri was named as the OVC Male Field Athlete of the Week.

The EIU indoor track & field teams will return to action at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend (Feb. 26-27). The Championships will be hosted in Nashville, Tenn. on the campus of Tennessee State.