Meet shows team strength
To go along with the Panthers’ seven total first place finishes at past weekend’s dual meet against Indiana State, the team also picked up second and third place finishes.
The Eastern men’s team entered the weekend ranked at No. 105 in the nation, while the women’s team was ranked No. 148 in the NCAA preseason poll. The visiting Indiana State Sycamores came to O’Brien Field with the No. 90 ranked men’s team and the No. 100 ranked women’s team.
Following red-shirt senior Tyler Arnholt’s first place finish in the men’s discus, teammates Donald Romero and Jared Diaz took second and third. Romero, a senior who also took first place in the hammer throw, recorded a discus mark of 156-feet, nine-inches. Diaz, a freshman, recorded a mark of 145-feet. Diaz followed his third place performance with a second place finish in the hammer throw, recording a throw of 155-feet, 10-inches.
Red-shirt freshman Matt Marunde took second place in the javelin throw with a mark of 143-feet in the first javelin event of the outdoor season.
In women’s track events, red-shirt junior Megan Gingerich took second place behind teammate and sophomore Olivia Klaus in the women’s 1,500-meter run. Gingerich recorded a time of 4:44.51.
On the men’s side of the track events, seniors Preston Smith and Chad Aubin took second and third in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing behind teammate and red-shirt senior Patrick Tortorici. Smith recorded a time of 53.67 seconds, while Aubin crossed the finish line at 54.03 seconds.
The Panthers will remain at home next weekend with the Neil Moore Multi’s on Friday and the EIU Big Blue Classic on Saturday and Sunday.
Around the OVC
Austin Peay competed at the Alabama Relays, hosted by the University of Alabama this past weekend. The best finish for the Governors was a third place finish in the 400-meter dash by Chiamaka Obi. The Austin Peay track and field team will look to compete at the their own Austin Peay Invitational this weekend.
The Eastern Kentucky track and field team opened its outdoor season at the Stanford Invitational. Senior Kat Pagano and sophomore Soufiane Bouchikhi both recorded times in the 5,000-meter run that put them in the top five in Eastern Kentucky history.
Senior Katherine Lynn of Tennessee Tech took first place in the women’s high jump at this past weekend’s Vanderbilt Black and Gold Meet. Lynn, the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion, cleared 1.69-meters in the event. The team will compete in the Jacksonville State Invitational this weekend.
Competing at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Meet along side Tennessee Tech was Southeast Missouri State, who saw senior Sammantha Espiricueta win the women’s discus and senior Josh Uchtman win the men’s shot put. The Redhawks will compete at the Joey Haines Invitational next weekend. Southeast Missouri State will host the event.
Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944
Meet shows team strength
Danny Harris, a sophomore hurdler, gets over a hurdle Saturday at Eastern’s dual meet against Indiana State at O’Brien Field. (Danny Damiani/The Daily Eastern News)
