Red-shirt junior sprinter Zye Boey saw his 2010-11 comeback indoor track season come to an end at the NCAA Indoor Championships last week, taking seventh place in the men’s 200-meter dash.

After sitting out last year’s indoor season with a knee injury, Boey rebounded this season to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the Panthers’ fourth meet of the season, the Illinois Intercollegiate.

Boey was the only member of the Eastern track and field team and the only representative of the Ohio Valley Conference to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championship.

This would mark Boey’s second trip to the NCAA Indoor Championship, as he qualified during his freshman season.

Boey did not place in his first trip to the NCAA Indoor Championship.

The NCAA Indoor Championship took place in College Station, Texas at Texas A&M.

“It was a great environment. I loved being there and I look forward to going back,” Boey said.

With Boey being the lone Eastern track and field representative at the meet, he said he was hoping to put Eastern on the map with his performance.

Boey said his body felt great going into the preliminary race, but tired going into the finals.

He finished in seventh place with a time of 21.55 seconds.

Junior Rakieem Salaam, of Oklahoma, took first place in the event with a time of 20.401 seconds.

Junior Maurice Mitchell and sophomore Brandon Byram, both of Florida State, took second and third place to round out the top three finishers.

Mitchell recorded a time of 20.403 seconds, falling just short of taking first place.

Teammate Byram finished with a time of 20.64 seconds.

Despite not taking first place, Boey said he still felt satisfied with his performance and the hard work he and his team have put in this indoor season.

“We had a lot of solid performances, a lot of P.R.s (personal records),” Boey said. “The coaches did a phenomenal job this season. I think everybody on the team P.R.’d this season, if not came close to it.”

For his performance, Boey was named an NCAA Division I All-American, a first for him in his career.

The honor also makes Boey only the 10th athlete in Eastern history to be named an All-American.

Boey is the first Eastern athlete since the 1999-2000 season to be named an All-American, when Gabe Spezia received the honor for his performance in the men’s 60-meter hurdles.

After a successful indoor season, Boey said he is already excited about the upcoming outdoor season.

“I’m ready to go. I’m fired up already,” Boey said.

Boey said the team is in shape, injury-free and ready to get the ball rolling for the start of the outdoor season.

The first outdoor meet of the season for the Panthers will be Saturday March 26 at the SIU Edwardsville Quad Meet.

The Panthers will the return home to O’Brien Field on March 31 for Neil Moore Multi’s and the EIU Big Blue Classic on April 1 and 2.

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

Zye Boey, red-shirt junior, receives his first place medal for the 60-meter dash Feb. 26 in the Lantz Fieldhouse. Boey competed and placed seventh in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships March 11. (Kim Foster

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