The Panthers’ performance last Friday shows that Easterns cross country is moving in the right direction.

The seventh place finish by the women and the 10th place finish by the men at the Notre Dame Invite last Saturday is something to be proud of.

The Panthers have competed in the Notre Dame Invite three times since the year 2000: 2002, 2008, and this year. The Panthers 2010 performance on both the men’s and women’s levels was the best they have done at the Notre Dame Invite since the turn of the century.

Connor Kustief’s 25:39 performance ranks second since 2000. Brad LaRocque’s time of 25:43 puts him right behind Kustief in third. Jason Springer’s 26:03 time ranks sixth on the list and Matt Feldhake’s 26:13 time ranks ninth.

The 2010 women’s team completely demolished previous records set by former Panther teams at the Notre Dame Invite. Seven out of the top ten all time finishes come from Friday’s performance, with the 2010 team claiming the top six spots.

The top six Eastern female finishes at the Notre Dame Invite now looks like this:

Olivia Klaus sits atop the list with her 18:18 time, Erika Ramos is in second with a time of 18:24, Brittany Arthur is third at 18:46, Caitlin Napoleoni is fourth with her time of 18:56, Megan Gingerich is in fifth with a time of 19:07 and Gabby Duenas is sixth at 19:09.

Liz Dole’s 19:30 time ranks at ninth on the top ten list of Notre Dame Invite finishes.

Coach Erin Howarth said she is very proud of her team’s performance.

Howarth explained that the best way for the team to reach its goals was to continue to do all the little things right and for the runners to treat their bodies in the best way possible.

The Panthers will once again have an off-week before returning to action on Oct. 14 for the Bradley Invite in Peoria, Illinois.

This upcoming meet marks the last meet before the Ohio Valley Conference Championships and the NCAA Regionals. The Panthers will be putting in a lot of hard work in practice during these next few weeks.

Around the OVC

For the second straight week in a row, Eastern Kentucky’s Soufiane Bouchikhi and Kat Pagano were named OVC Runners of the Week. Bouchikhi finished second out of 264 runners at the Brooks Memphis Twilight.

She finished the 8K race in 23:17.99, which sets the OVC 2010 season mark. Bouchikhi’s time was one minute and 22 seconds faster than the previous record.

Kat Pagano finished seventh out of 264 runners at the Brooks Memphis Twilight. Pagano finished the 5K in 17:43.25. This time was 32 seconds faster than the previous OVC 5K 2010 season mark.

Eastern Kentucky’s men’s team is ranked No. 6, up three spots from a week ago, in the southeast region in the USTFCCCA rankings. The Eastern Kentucky women’s team has moved up two spots to No. 13.

Eastern Kentucky’s men’s team won the Brooks Memphis Twilight, which featured 32 other schools, including OVC rivals: Austin Peay, Murray State, Jacksonville State, and UT- Martin. The women’s team finished second overall.

Southeast Missouri men’s and women’s team finished fourth overall at the Southern Illinois Saluki Invitational in Carbondale.

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

Junior cross country runner Bradley LaRocque does high knees during a warm-up before a workout run at practice on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at the Panther Trail. (Jordan Boner

(more…)