School records fall at invite

Reid Basting, a junior sprinter, runs the men's 4x800-meter relay Jan. 22, 2010 during the EIU Mega Meet in the Lantz Fieldhouse. (Danny Damiani | The Daily Eastern News)

Two Eastern school records fell last weekend as the Panthers traveled to South Bend for the Notre Dame Meyo Invite. 

Red-shirt junior Zye Boey took first place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.89 seconds to break his own previous record of 20.93 seconds, which he set in 2009.

Boey beat out Stanley Azie of Illinois to secure the win. Boey defeated Azie at last weekend's Illinois Intercollegiate in the same event to win the 200-meter dash.

Boey also competed in the 60-meter dash, where he took second place for the first time this season. Boey recorded a time of 6.85 seconds. He fell short to Michael Granger of Mississippi, who ran a 6.67 second time. Granger is currently ranked No. 14 in the NCAA in the men's 60-meter dash.

On the women's side, red-shirt junior Megan Gingerich took seventh place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.96. The mark breaks an Eastern record of 2:12.54, which had been held since 1987 by Lauren Lynch. 

Sofie Persson of Mississippi took second place in the event with a time of 2:06.77. The junior currently holds the No. 4 fastest women's 800-meter time in the NCAA. The event was won by Holli Hosch of Northern Iowa with a time of 2:06.31.

"For me personally, it's just about doing the best I can. It's not just about 'Oh, I have to get this record or run this time', for me it's about knowing I'm competing and putting forth my best effort and seeing the results that come from the hard work I put in at practice," Gingerich said.

After posting a top five all-time school mark in the women's 800-meter event last week, sophomore Erika Ramos again put her name on the Eastern all-time list with a 5:01.61 time in the one mile run. 

Ramos took ninth in the event, but the time currently ranks sixth on the Eastern all-time list. Teammate Bridget Sanchez placed second in the 400-meter run with a time of 56.37. The mark gives the junior the second fastest time in Eastern history for the event.

Senior Darren Patterson also moved into fourth place on the all-time Eastern list with his fourth place finish in the men's 400-meter relay. Patterson recorded a time of 47.94. The men's 4x400 team of senior Darren Patterson, freshman Cody Boarman, senior Preston Smith and red-shirt senior Patrick Tortorici took fifth place with a time of 3:14.20. The time now stands as the No. 5 fastest on the all-time Eastern list.

Red-shirt freshman Mick Viken took first place in the men's pole vault with a mark of 17-feet-0.72-inches. Viken remains just short of taking the Eastern record, which he tied last week.

The Panthers will look to compete again at next week's Iowa State Classic.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu