Head men’s track coach Tom Akers added two more names to his men’s roster.

DeMarcus Brooks and Lamarr Pottinger will round out the men’s roster for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Brooks is a sprinter from Springfield Southeast High School who won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes this year at the Illinois High School Association Class AA state meet.

Brooks finished the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.68 seconds and 200-meter dash in 21.37.

Brooks has also won the 100-meter dash three years in a row.

He first took the title in 2006, and followed up the next two years with first place finishes.

He also holds the school record in the 100-meter dash at 10.4.

Pottinger is a high hurdler who hails from Antioch High School.

Pottinger posted a time of 14.95 in the preliminary heat of the 110-meter hurdles at the IHSA state meet.

He also holds the school record of 14.2 in which he ran at his high school’s sectionals.

Brooks and Pottinger will join six other athletes who have already signed for the 2008-2009 track and cross country seasons.

They will be joined by Reid Basting (Normal West HS), Tyler Carter (Tuscola HS), Matthew Feldhake (St. Anthony’s HS – Effingham), Connor Kustief (Dundee-Crown HS), Jordan Patterson (Williamsville HS), and Sean Wiggan (Waubonsie Valley HS).

Panthers have a ball

Eastern’s baseball hasn’t missed a beat since their appearance at the 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association Regional Tournament in Lincoln, Neb.

Several players are playing in summer collegiate wood bat leagues.

Staying local are Jordan Tokarz, Brian Morrell, and Richie Derbak.

Tokarz and Morrell are playing in the Central Illinois Collegiate League.

Tokarz is a member of the DuPage Dragons who are currently tied for second in the league with a record of 7-6.

Tokarz is batting .171 with seven hits and four runs batted in. He also has a fielding percentage of .978 with only one error in ten games played.

Tokarz was named the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament’s MVP earlier this spring.

Morrell is a member of the Quincy Gems who are currently tied with the Dragons. Morrell is pitching with an earned run average of 2.63 with one win.

Derbak is a little farther from home in North Canton, Ohio. The sophomore infielder is playing with the Stark County Terriers in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.

Derbak is batting .214 in six games played.

Some Panthers found homes on the east coast.

Brett Nommensen is currently playing in the Coastal Plain League for the Edenton Steamers in Edenton, N.C. He is batting .326 and has three RBIs in only eleven games played.

He also has an on-base percentage of .420 with 10 stolen bases out of 11 attempts.

Ryan Linquist and Matt Miller are both in Wellsville, N.Y., with the Allegany County Nitros, which are part of the New York Collegiate League. Miller has a slender ERA of 1.50 with two wins in only two games started. Linquist is batting .464 with 13 hits and nine RBIs in only eight games played.

Junior Jordan Kreke is also in New York with the Watertown Wizards, which are also a part of the New York Collegiate League. Kreke is batting .382 with 13 hits and four RBIs as he’s started all nine games that he’s played in.

Hyndman new FC Dallas coach

Former Eastern soccer player and head coach Schellas Hyndman was recently announced as the new head coach of FC Dallas, which is a Major League Soccer team

FC Dallas lost their first game under Hyndman. It lost 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls last Saturday night.

FC Dallas will play next at Houston Dynamo Thursday night.

Hyndman was a member of the 1969 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championship team.

While at Eastern, Hyndman earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education, and after graduate school he played one season with the Cincinnati Comets of the American Soccer League in 1975.

He then moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil to serve as an apprentice at Escola Graduada de Sao Paulo, and trained regularly with Sao Paulo FC.

He returned to the U.S., and started coaching at Eastern in 1977, becoming the university’s first full-time head coach.

Compiled by Sports Editor Molly Clutter.