The Eastern indoor track and field team opened its season at the Eastern Early Bird meet.

The Panthers posted 10 first-place finishes as they face Indiana State and Southeast Missouri.

The women had four first-place finishes.

Red-shirt junior Jade Riebold picked up where she left off from her All-American season with a first-place finish in the high jump.

She cleared 13-feet, 4.5-inches, just missing her Eastern record height of 13-feet, 11-inches.

Sophomore Maura Cummins won the women’s high jump with a jump of 5-feet, 6.5-inches.

Junior Condia Smith placed second in the weight throw with a 54-feet, 10.75-inches. This is the sixth-best distance in Eastern history. Senior Erika Ramos won the mile with a time of 4:58. The women’s distance medley of freshman Kelsey Haridmon, junior

Justine Moore, freshman Amy Yeoman, and senior Erika Ramos finished first with atime of 12:58, beating Southeast Missouri by nearly 27 seconds.

Junior Jalisa Paramore finished second in the 60m hurdles with a time of

8.56-meter, which is her personal record and the fifth best time in Eastern history.

The women’s 4×400-meter relay team of sophomore Janessa Clay, sophomore Maura Cummins, freshman Dhiaa Dean and sophomore Katie Ryan finished second with a time of 3:59.

Senior Britney Whitehead finished second in the 3000m run with a time of 10:33.52.

Freshman Kristen Rohrer finished 29 seconds behind her in her Eastern debut.

Senior Abigail Schmitz finished fourth in the pole vault with a jump of 12-feet, 0.8-inches, the fifth best height in Eastern history.

Junior Mick Viken broke his own Eastern pole vault record with a height of 17-feet, five-inches, more than a foot better than the next best finisher, freshman Eric Gordon. Gordon was able to reach a height of 16-feet, 0.75-inches, tied for the eighth best in Eastern history.

Junior Cody Boarman won the 400m dash with a time of 49.49 seconds.

Freshman Calvin Edwards made his mark in his first Eastern race, as he won the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.1 seconds.

Eastern also took the men’s side of the distance medley, as sophomores Bryce Basting, Ryan Ballard, Ephraim Dorsey, and senior Sean Wiggan posted a time of 10:34.61.

The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of junior Cody Boarman, freshman Calvin Edwards, senior Dominique Hall and sophomore Christian Kolb.

Senior Bryce Hogan won the triple jump with a 42-feet, 6.75-inches.

Senior Sean Wiggan finished second in the 800m run with a time of 1:54.95, just .2 seconds behind the first-place finisher.

Sophomore Ephraim Dorsey finished second in the 600m run with a time of 1:22.91, just .58 seconds from first place.

Senior Lamarr Pottinger finished second in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.24 seconds.

Head coach Tom Akers said the Panthers’ performance at the Early Bird shows that they could be a force this season.

However, the impending break will be a huge factor.

“Our training over the Christmas holidays will be crucial to the success, or demise, of our indoor season.” assistant coach Erin Howarth added. “These next four weeks of training while most athletes are at home and away from their coaches and teammates is vital to the success of our indoor season.”

The Panthers will look to continue their momentum after the break as they host the John Craft Invitational on January 19.

“This team is very excited for the future and where the energy is going,” Howarth said.

Holden Fuehne can be reached at 581-2812 or hjfuehne@eiu.edu.