Eastern athletes shine over thousands

Red-shirt senior middle distance runner Wes Sheldon runs during the Eastern Mega Meet on Saturday, Jan. 22 in the fieldhouse of Lantz Arena.(Jordan Boner | The Daily Eastern News)

The Eastern track and field team competed against more than 1,700 athletes at last weekend's Notre Dame Meyo Invite in South Bend, Ind. 

The meet featured 45 women's teams and 35 men's teams. It was an impressive collection of talent from all across the nation, as 38 of the 81 competing teams were ranked in their respective region. The men's competition featured 17 ranked teams, and the women's featured 19 ranked teams.

The Panthers have been competing annually at the Meyo Invite, which always showcases some of the nation's best talent. 

At last year's meet, the Panthers managed to post three top ten finishes. This year's top finisher, red-shirt junior sprinter Zye Boey, did not compete, as he missed last year's entire indoor season with a knee injury. The last time Boey competed at the Meyo Invite was in 2009 as a red-shirt freshman. Boey took second in the 60-meter dash and first in the 200-meter dash, just as he did last weekend.

As for the team's performance at the Meyo Invite this time around, Boey said the team had a solid performance and responded well to the level of competition at the event.

Boey also broke his own school record for the 200-meter dash, which is an accomplishment, he said, and means a lot to him. Though proud of his accomplishment, Boey said that the season is not yet over and there is still work to be done. Boey qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championship at the Illinois Intercollegiate on Jan. 29. The NCAA Indoor Championship does not take place until March 11. But before then, the Panthers will head to Iowa State next weekend to compete in the Iowa State Classic.

Travel not an issue 

With heavy snow and ice causing class cancellations on campus mid-last week, potentially dangerous travel conditions became a question facing the team. 

The Panthers would be traveling approximately 250 miles from Charleston to South Bend, Ind. but hoped that the worst of the storm would pass before the team's scheduled depart last Friday.

"It wasn't an issue. We got out and ran outside when we were there for a little bit. It was a little bit colder, but it was kind of nice to get away for the weekend and compete somewhere else, but the snow definitely wasn't an issue," red-shirt junior Megan Gingerich said.

Gingerich said South Bend saw much more snow than Charleston, but not as much ice.

Around the OVC 

Eastern Kentucky had the top three times in the women's 60-meter hurdle event at last weekend's Middle Tennessee State Invitational. Junior Lutisha Bowen, sophomore DanHeisha Harding and senior Jasymn Norris finished first, second and third in the event, while also claiming the top three times in the Ohio Valley Conference.

April Holman of Austin Peay recorded a personal best in the women's high jump with a mark of 5-feet-0.05-inches. The mark is among the top five in the Ohio Valley Conference. Austin Peay competed at the Niswonger Invitational, held at Eastern Tennessee State.

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