A season of hard work will conclude this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championship for red-shirt junior Zye Boey.

Boey will be the lone Eastern track and field representative, competing in the 200-meter dash. Boey is currently ranked No. 6 in the nation in the men’s 200-meter dash. Along with being the only Eastern representative, Boey is also the only Ohio Valley Conference athlete in the event and entire NCAA Indoor Championship.

This will mark Boey’s second trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships.

His first trip was during his red-shirt freshman season, where he qualified again in the 200-meter dash. Boey was disqualified in the preliminary event. Boey did not compete in his red-shirt sophomore indoor track season, where he sat out with a knee injury.

Now back, Boey looks to cap off an already successful season with an impressive performance at the NCAA Indoor Championship.

Boey will be competing in the first of four preliminary heats. Boey will be facing some of the top competition in the country, especially in his heat. In Boey’s heat will be Gerald Phiri of host Texas A&M, Tony McQuay of Florida and Kind Butler of Indiana. The top eight times of the four preliminary heats will advance to the final round.

“It’s by far the best competition I’ve faced all year,” Boey said.

Boey said he is a little nervous competing against the best of the best, but says he is up to the challenge.

“I’m ready to run fast,” Boey said.

With all the talent, Boey says there is still no clear-cut winner in the race.

“Everybody’s pretty close together,” Boey said. “A lot of the times are within a one hundredth or half a hundredth of a second between each other. Who ever runs the better race will come out a national champion.”

One thing Boey said has carried him through the week has been the support of his family, friends and coaches.

“They tell me ‘just race, go out and enjoy it’,” Boey said.

Boey said he wants to have fun, run his race and do the same things he has been doing and to not worry.

“It’s an honor to be here,” Boey said. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work this season. I deserve it.”

Having already been in College Station, Texas since midweek, Boey has been using his time wisely to prepare for Friday’s race while also enjoying himself.

“I’m enjoying the weather down here,” Boey said. “It’s 75 degrees out right now. But other than that, I’ve just been in my room watching videos of myself from previous meets, weigh out the pros and cons and fix a few flaws.”

Boey’s first race is set to begin Friday evening, with the finals slated to being later that night.

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

Zye Boey, a redshirt junior sprinter, reacts after winning first place in the 200 meter dash Feb. 26 at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Lantz Fieldhouse. Boey will compete in the 200 meter dash this weekend at the NCAA I

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