Things were looking good for the Eastern men in the first mile of the Panther Open.

Freshman Brad LaRocque was out in front and coming up behind a strong pack of Panthers who finished the first mile in about five minutes.

LaRocque said he felt really good after the first mile with the pack sticking together, but not long after passing the mile marker the men started to break up and stayed apart the rest of the race and finished 21st.

The Panthers, despite being spread out finished in second place in the team race with a total of 82 points.

Southern Illinois-Carbondale men kept their pack together and managed to take five of the top ten spots and won the meet with 25 total points.

The top finisher for the men’s five-mile race was Carbondale sophomore Jeff Schirmer, who finished in 25 minutes and 12.41 seconds.

“I did exactly what I was supposed to do,” Schirmer said. “I went out there smart, some people went out crazy like rabbits, and I just stayed back and helped pack up for awhile and then when it was time to go, I just went.”

Butler, who finished fourth, ran unattached for Eastern, said having the Panthers top runner stay with the pack, like Carbondale did, not only helped keep their pack strong but probably helped block some wind as well.

“It probably isn’t the best strategy, on a windy day to go just bolt out to the lead,” Masanet said. “If he could go back and click his heels three times he would have just gone with the main group and probably would have won today.”

Masanet said a big problem with the way Eastern went out was not that they were going too fast, but that some of the guys thought they were going out to fast.

When they heard the first split time of five minutes, some guys panicked because they thought should have been slower than that, Masanet said.

“But going out in five flat is normal, it’s expected, deal with it and move on,” Masanet said. “They can handle it but they just doubted themselves, they let from their shoulders on up tell their body how it was physically feeling and they didn’t trust their fitness level.”

Freshman Ryan Hoklas was the first official finisher for Eastern, placing 14th with a time of 26:4.21.

Freshman Derek Ericson was the next Panther across the finish line in 16th place, followed by junior Jeremy Wheeler and freshman Brad LaRocque.

The top three team finishers in the women’s 3.1-mile race were only seven points apart with Southeast Missouri getting first with 49 total points.

The top finisher for the women’s race was Julie Koenegstein who finished in 17:51.78.

Eastern’s women placed fourth overall with 98 points, and sophomore Erin O’Grady earned the Panthers only top ten spot.

O’Grady, who was in third at the first mile, finished eighth in 18:35.93.

“At the mile we could have been a pinch slower,” O’Grady said. “It probably would have helped us a little later in the race. But I am glad I stuck my nose up there and took a risk; I was ready to be strong and run with the big dogs and see what I could do.”

Masanet said that overall with a depleted squad, he was impressed with the way Eastern finished and has no doubt that when they do fill in the spots and bring people back, they will be a team to beat.

Matt Dettloff, freshman, runs towards the finish line during the Panther Open on September 14th. Dettloff finished the 8K race in 27th place. Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News

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