Track Sends Small Group to Mt. Sac Relays

Eastern Illinois track and field will return to action this week as the Panthers send a limited number of competitors to compete at the Mt. SAC Relays.   EIU will have three women and six men making the trip to California.
 
The women's contingent will include Pedra Hicks, MaKenna Wilson and Jasmine Woodley.   Hicks will compete in both the 100 meter hurdles and 400 meter hurdles.  She is currently ranked 17th in the NCAA West Region in the 400 meter hurdle event.
 
Wilson will compete in three events with entries in the shot put, discus and hammer.  Wilson currently holds the EIU women's hammer record as she and teammate Woodley have traded off ownership of that record during the spring.  Woodley will compete in the hammer at Mt. SAC.
 
On the men's side Brandan Lane and Tadiwa Mhonde will both compete in the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints.   Lane currently ranks first in the OVC in the 100 meter while Mhonde has the fastest 200 meter time in the conference.
 
Distance runners Dustin Hatfield and Marcus Skinner will both run their first 10,000 meter run of the season late Thursday evening.
 
In field events Joe Smith and Nick Phillips will be in action for EIU.  Smith will compete in the long jump and triple jump.  He currently has the 43rd best triple jump mark in the NCAA West Region.   Phillips will compete in the men's hammer.
 
Last week at the Illini Twilight, EIU posted 16 individual top three finishes including a win in the women's hammer by Woodley.  Avani Flangan was third in the women's steeplechase but her time in the race earned the sophomore OVC Female Track Athlete of the Week honors.