Select members head to Drake Relays
Friday, April 29 2011 -The Eastern track and field team will take a total of eight athletes to the Drake Relays this weekend, while the rest of the team will compete at the Stan Lyons Invite in Indianapolis, Ind.
This will mark the second straight week the Panthers will be split between two meets. The eight Panthers will be among a total of 7,000 other competing athletes at the Drake Relays.
Three Panthers will be competing in the men's 100-meter dash. Red-shirt junior Zye Boey, senior Darren Patterson and red-shirt sophomore Jacob Mitchell will all be representing Eastern in the event.
One of the biggest names the three will face in the 100-meter dash is Michael Granger from the University of Mississippi. Granger, a sophomore, won the event at the Drake Relays last year, and is currently ranked No. 15 in the nation in the event. Boey is tied for the No. 8 spot, while Patterson and Mitchell are unranked.
Rounding out the competitors for the men's track events, red-shirt senior Pat Tortorici will be competing in the 400-meter hurdles. The world's No. 1 ranked Jeremy Wariner will also be competing in the event. Wariner last won the event at the Drake Relays in 2009. Wariner is a three-time U.S. Olympic gold medal winner.
Leading the field events will be red-shirt freshman pole vaulter Mick Viken. Viken will look to again square off with Jordan Scott of Kansas, who he placed second to at last week's Kansas Relays. Scott remain's the nations' No. 3 pole vaulter, while Viken is still tied for the No. 5 spot with three other individuals. Scott is the defending NCAA outdoor champion in the event.
Junior Tyler Carter will look to compete in the long jump against Mantas Silkauskas of Kansas State. Silkauskas is the defending NCAA champion in the heptathlon and is nationally ranked in a number of other events. Teammate Tyler Arnholt, a red-shirt senior, will look to compete in the discus event for the Panthers.
The lone female individual competing for the Panthers will be red-shirt junior Megan Gingerich, looking to compete in the 800-meter run. Gingerich ran one of her best times of the season at last week's Kansas Relays, posting a mark of 2:10.64.
Despite being the only individual competitor for the women's team, Gingerich is still excited about the weekend's events.
"It's always a little more nerve-wracking to run your own individual race, but I'm excited to run the 4x800 (meter relay) on Friday night also because relays are always fun, and to be with your teammates and do well," Ginerich said. "I'm excited about both races. It feels like everywhere we go, it's been raining. So, if anything it helps us."
The Panthers will also be competing in the men's 4x100-meter relay, 4x200-meter relay, 4x400-meter relay and sprint medley relay. The women's side will be competing in the 4x800-meter relay, distance medley relay and sprint medley. The Panthers are coming off a first place finish in last year's sprint medley relay at the meet. Both Boey and Patterson, who competed on the winning team last year, will be competing again this year.
This weekend's events will be the final preparation before they enter the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championship, at Murray State.
Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu
This will mark the second straight week the Panthers will be split between two meets. The eight Panthers will be among a total of 7,000 other competing athletes at the Drake Relays.
Three Panthers will be competing in the men's 100-meter dash. Red-shirt junior Zye Boey, senior Darren Patterson and red-shirt sophomore Jacob Mitchell will all be representing Eastern in the event.
One of the biggest names the three will face in the 100-meter dash is Michael Granger from the University of Mississippi. Granger, a sophomore, won the event at the Drake Relays last year, and is currently ranked No. 15 in the nation in the event. Boey is tied for the No. 8 spot, while Patterson and Mitchell are unranked.
Rounding out the competitors for the men's track events, red-shirt senior Pat Tortorici will be competing in the 400-meter hurdles. The world's No. 1 ranked Jeremy Wariner will also be competing in the event. Wariner last won the event at the Drake Relays in 2009. Wariner is a three-time U.S. Olympic gold medal winner.
Leading the field events will be red-shirt freshman pole vaulter Mick Viken. Viken will look to again square off with Jordan Scott of Kansas, who he placed second to at last week's Kansas Relays. Scott remain's the nations' No. 3 pole vaulter, while Viken is still tied for the No. 5 spot with three other individuals. Scott is the defending NCAA outdoor champion in the event.
Junior Tyler Carter will look to compete in the long jump against Mantas Silkauskas of Kansas State. Silkauskas is the defending NCAA champion in the heptathlon and is nationally ranked in a number of other events. Teammate Tyler Arnholt, a red-shirt senior, will look to compete in the discus event for the Panthers.
The lone female individual competing for the Panthers will be red-shirt junior Megan Gingerich, looking to compete in the 800-meter run. Gingerich ran one of her best times of the season at last week's Kansas Relays, posting a mark of 2:10.64.
Despite being the only individual competitor for the women's team, Gingerich is still excited about the weekend's events.
"It's always a little more nerve-wracking to run your own individual race, but I'm excited to run the 4x800 (meter relay) on Friday night also because relays are always fun, and to be with your teammates and do well," Ginerich said. "I'm excited about both races. It feels like everywhere we go, it's been raining. So, if anything it helps us."
The Panthers will also be competing in the men's 4x100-meter relay, 4x200-meter relay, 4x400-meter relay and sprint medley relay. The women's side will be competing in the 4x800-meter relay, distance medley relay and sprint medley. The Panthers are coming off a first place finish in last year's sprint medley relay at the meet. Both Boey and Patterson, who competed on the winning team last year, will be competing again this year.
This weekend's events will be the final preparation before they enter the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championship, at Murray State.
Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu