This weekend the Eastern track and field test will face arguably their biggest test of the season so far.

The Panthers will head to the Illinois Intercollegiate meet as the No. 11 team in the Midwest Region, but will also run into the number one ranked University of Illinois.

I believe that the Illinois Intercollegiate meet can be a definite statement maker for the Panthers, who enter the meet with some of the best track and field athletes in the nation.

Sprinter Zye Boey and pole vaulter Mick Viken are both nationally ranked in their events.

After his performance this past week, Viken was named Ohio Valley Conference Male Field Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks.

Though Boey did not win the award this week, he had won the previous two weeks after his performances.

The University of Illinois will definitely have the advantage come Saturday.

The Illini will be competing at home for the fourth straight week and have done extremely well at each of the events.

At the Illini’s first meet of the season, the team won a total of 12 events.

The Illini also have the talent to warrant their No. 1 ranking. Junior Andrew Riley is one of the best athletes in the country, winning the national championship in last year’s 110-meter hurdle event.

Riley will present a challenge not only for the Panthers, but for everyone he competes against. Also for the Illini is freshman weight thrower Davis Fraker, who set a school record, which he also previously owned, after his performance last week. Fraker was also named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week.

The Panthers cannot be intimidated by the talent on the Illini roster. At the EIU Mega Meet last weekend, I talked to a number of Panther athletes who said they wished there would have been more competition at the event.

Well, Panthers, your wish has been granted, because the Illinois Intercollegiate will have talent, and lots of it. One team I think the Panthers can easily outperform is Ohio Valley Conference rival, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

The Panthers cannot only make a statement to the nation and entire Midwest Region, but also to their own conference. The Panthers can use this meet to show that they truly are a step above everybody else in the Ohio Valley Conference, as I believe they are.

I think that if the Panthers go out with the same attitude that they’ve had so far this season, they will come away with a few events and show some of the top teams that Eastern is a legitimate program. Eastern is one of the smallest teams ranked in the top fifteen for the Midwest Region, but I think Eastern can make a statement this weekend and show that the small schools can compete with the big guys.

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