After finishing up the first meet of 2012, the Eastern’s men’s and women’s track and field team will head to the Indiana Relays in Bloomington, Ind., this weekend.

Three Panthers earn OVC honors

Following their performances at the John Craft Invite, three members of the Eastern track and field teams earned Ohio Valley Conference Athlete of the Week honors.

Red-shirt senior Zye Boey was named OVC Male Track Athlete of the Week after winning both the 60-meter and 200-meter dash. Boey won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.76 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.56. His 200-meter time set the John Craft Invite record.

Nationally, Boey is No. 4 in the 200-meter and No. 15 in nation in the 60-meter dash.

OVC Female Track Athlete of the Week was awarded to red-shirt sophomore Jade Riebold, who finished second in the pole vault event.

Despite the second place finish, she managed to break her own Eastern record, vaulting 13-feet, 1.50-inches. The John Craft Invite was only Riebold’s second career meet as a Panther. Riebold is currently the No. 19 women’s pole vaulter in the nation.

Last week, Boey and Riebold were both nominees for the honor, but not awarded.

Red-shirt senior Donald Romero was named OVC Male Field Athlete of the Week after winning the men’s weight throw with a mark of 60-feet, 6-inches. In the event, he currently ranks No. 23 in the nation.

Men’s Track in Regional Top Ten

In the first rankings released by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the Eastern men’s team is ranked No. 9 in the Midwest Region. The Panthers are the only OVC team represented.

The first ranked team is Nebraska, followed by Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, Southern Illinois-Carbondale, Kansas, North Dakota State, Eastern and Kansas State.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7942 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu