Mick Viken and Zye Boey. Zye Boey and Mick Viken. Viken and Boey. Boey and Viken.

Two names I’ve been hearing nonstop ever since the weekend’s Big Blue Classic.

Viken and Boey both broke school records in what was essentially not only the Panthers’ first scheduled home meet, but the Panthers’ first meet as an entire team.

The cancellation of Cougar Invite led to a short dual meet against Indiana State at O’Brien Field where only a portion of the team competed.

So when the Big Blue Classic rolled around, the Panthers wanted to start the outdoor season the same mindset that they ended the indoor season with.

Mick Viken was definitely a surprise in the indoor season, so I was eager to see how he would fair in the outdoors.

Viken’s talent was no secret. He was a state champion at Rolling Meadows High School and was a member of the University of Wisconsin’s recruiting class that was one of the best in the nation.

Viken came to Eastern and made a name for himself by breaking the school indoor record. It took Viken almost the entire season to break the indoor record, breaking it at the OVC Indoor Championship in February. However, he wasted no time in the outdoor season, breaking the outdoor record in his first event outdoors in a Panther uniform.

For Viken, there’s nowhere to go but up, as he’ll have plenty of time to break his own record with the outdoor season still young and only being a red-shirt freshman.

Zye Boey’s success comes as no surprise. Boey has been the face of Eastern track and field, as the only Eastern representative at the NCAA Indoor Championship last month.

Boey had a phenomenal indoor season, breaking multiple records along the way. Boey began his outdoor season the same way, breaking a record that stood since 1984.

Similar to Viken, Boey also has nowhere to go but up, as he can continue to improve on his Eastern legacy with many meets remaining in the track season.

I think Boey and Viken have pretty much cemented themselves as two of the best athletes to ever put on an Eastern track uniform. They’re both already the best in Eastern history and currently two of the best in the nation at their respective events.

I think they are both two track athletes that fans will talk about and remember many years after their time at Eastern has passed.

Perhaps we could one day add them both to the list of Eastern Olympians with John Craft, Tim Dykstra and others. Only time will tell.

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