Women’s track recruits four for 2008

The Panther women’s track and field teams recently added four recruits to the roster for next season. LaDonna Martin, Caitlin Napoleoni, Charay Savage and Taneya Tuell have all signed national letters of intent with Eastern. This past season Martin qualified for state in the long jump for Thornwood High School in South Holland, IL. She finished third in sectionals. Napoleoni ran for South High School in Crystal Lake, IL placing in the Top 15 in regionals during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Savage ran four events at this years IHSA finals for Belleville East High School in Belleville, IL. She placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles after setting a school record at the sectional with a time of 14.2. She also ran the 300-meter hurdles, 4×100 relay and 4×400 relay. Tuell has been a top runner at Urbana High School and finished 145th overall at the 2006 IHSA state finals.

Local athlete joins women’s rugby squad

Mattoon native Emma Cannoy has signed a National Letter of Intent to play rugby for the panthers in the upcoming 2007 season. In high school, Cannoy was a member of the volleyball and track teams where she earned All-Area, All-Conference and MVP recognition for her abilities. Coach Frank Graziano stated, “It’s always exiting to recruit local prospects. Emma will represent the city of Mattoon very well and hopefully begin to set a trend for future Mattoon athletes to come and join our rugby program.” Graziano expressed confidence in the young recruit saying, “Emma has the athletic ability and speed we are always looking for in a recruit. Out style of play revolves around speed, power and quick decision making – Emma has all of that. Pound for pound she might be one of the strongest female athletes to come out of Mattoon High School in recent years. Emma will have the opportunity to compete for several different starting positions and we are looking forward to preseason camp to see what she can do.” The Panther women’s rugby team remains one of the top programs in the country. They finished the 2006 season with a record of 9-1, outscoring their opponents 653-42.

Panthers sign new track and field athletes

Seven student-athletes have recently signed on to the Panther men’s track and field teams for next season. Tom Akers, Director of track and field at EIU, said runners Kevin Adamowski, Matthew Dettloff, Justin Helpingstine, Ryan Koklas, Nicholas Kuczwara, Joseph Noonan and Preston Smith have all signed national letters of intent with Eastern. Adamowski hails from Sandburg High in Oak Forest, Ill where he finished 19th at the IHSA State Class AA Cross Country meet in 2006, and qualified for state in the 1600 meter run. Dettloff competed for Palatine High in Palatine, IL placing 66th at the IHSA State Class AA Cross Country meet in 2006 and qualifying for the 1600 meter run. Helpingstine ran two events for Salem High School this past year finishing third in the 800 meter run at the IHSA finals. Hoklas ran as a member of the 4×800 meter relay team for Prairie Ridge High School, and finished 22nd at the 2006 IHSA finals. Kuczwara is from Elmhurst, IL and competed in three separate events at this year’s state finals. He helped win first place in the 4×800 meter relay, finished fifth in the 800 meter run, and competed in the 4×400 relay. Noonan finished second at this year’s IHSA finals in the pole vault competition and is currently ranked seventh in the nation among high school seniors. Smith comes to Eastern from Normal, IL where he competed in the 300 meter hurdles and with the 4×100 relay team.