Boey remains lone NCAA qualifier

Issue date: 3/7/11 Section: Sports

Zye Boey, a red-shirt junior sprinter, races in the men's 60-meter dash taking first place during the Ohio Valley Indoor Track Championships Feb. 25 in Lantz Arena. (Danny Damiani | The Daily Eastern News)" src="http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper309/stills/r3y8kc3g.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "> Zye Boey, a red-shirt junior sprinter, races in the men's 60-meter dash taking first place during the Ohio Valley Indoor Track Championships Feb. 25 in Lantz Arena. (Danny Damiani | The Daily Eastern News)

A select few members of the Eastern's track and field team headed to the Alex Wilson Notre Dame Last Chance meet last weekend. 

The team saw many new times and names added to the all-time Eastern list in numerous events, but red-shirt junior Zye Boey will remain as the team's lone representative at the NCAA Indoor Championships next week. Boey competed at the Virginia Tech Last Chance Qualifier this past weekend.

Junior Bridget Sanchez saw two of her times make their way into the top five of Eastern's all-time list. Sanchez posted a time of 56.08 seconds in the women's 400-meter dash, taking ninth out of 12 other runners. 

Sanchez would have needed to post a time of 52.60 seconds to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championship. Despite falling short in the race, Sanchez's time ranks as the No. 2 all-time Eastern performance, standing only behind Alicia Harris's 2004 time of 54.96 seconds.

Sanchez also took 10th place in the women's 200-meter dash. Thirteen total racers competed in the event. Sanchez posted a time of 25.08 seconds, which ranks as the sixth best in Eastern indoor history.

Red-shirt junior Megan Gingerich took 17th place out of 35 runners in the women's 800-meter event. Gingerich finished with a time of 2:10.99. Gingerich currently holds the best time in Eastern history in the event with a time of 2:10.96. 

Also competing in the event were sophomore teammates Paige Biehler and Erika Ramos. Biehler finished in the 25 spot with a time of 2:13.50, while Ramos did not finish.

Coming off of an impressive first place finish at the OVC Indoor Championships, sophomore Abigail Schmitz placed 12th at the Last Chance with a mark of 12-feet, 4-inches. With that mark, Schmitz moves up to second all-time on the Eastern women's pole vault list. Currently holding the top spot is Mary Wood, who set the record in 2005, with a mark of 12-feet, 5.5-inches.

On the men's side of the pole vault, red-shirt freshman Mick Viken placed third in the event, recording a mark of 16-feet, 10-inches. Viken is the current Eastern indoor pole vault record holder, after breaking the record at the OVC Indoor Championship.

Also competing for the men was junior Tyler Carter, who finished third in the long jump. Carter jumped 24-feet, 9-inches, moving him up to third on the Eastern all-time list. Carter also competed in the 60-meter hurdles, where he finished second with a time of 8.08 seconds.

Freshman Cody Boarman closed out his indoor season with a 12th place finish in the men's 800-meter. Boarman's time of 48.46 seconds ranks as the 10th best in Eastern history. Red-shirt senior Pat Tortorici finished in 16th place, while teammate senior Preston Smith followed in 17th.

Senior Darren Patterson finished third in the men's 200-meter dash with a time of 21.77. Patterson, along with Boarman, Tortorici and Smith competed together in the 4x400-meter relay, finishing fourth with a time of 3:14.24.

At the Virginia Tech Last Chance Qualifier, red-shirt junior Zye Boey finished first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.00 seconds. Boey also finished fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.85 seconds.

Boey will look to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend at Texas A&M.


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