I really can’t believe that I am at this point of my senior year already.

Homecoming was a great time, and it brings out so much of my EIU pride.

The weekend started out with an amazing pair of matches between the EIU volleyball and UT Martin volleyball teams on Friday afternoon. The battle of the best teams in the Ohio Valley Conference was exciting to witness and cover. It brought a lot of pride because I saw some of our best athletes put on a fight throughout 10 matches Friday. If you haven’t watched the EIU volleyball team yet, you need to start because they are on a hot streak right now and are so fun to watch. I can’t wait to see how the rest of their season turns out.

On Saturday morning, I went and watched the homecoming parade with some friends. It was my first time watching it and it was great to see the town of Charleston and EIU come together for it. The best part of the parade is when the float of the football team alumni drove past a frat house and one of the alumni started doing their call and then one of the current frat guys came outside and did it back. It was so cool to witness the alumnus and current student come together and have that moment.

Boy, did the EIU football team put on a show for homecoming on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. While it was not the result we wanted, it was certainly exciting. Those guys sure put on a fight until the final whistle. The double overtime had the crowd on their feet, which was great. I have never witnessed college football overtime, so it was quite interesting. It’s funny, the last time EIU was in an overtime game was during the 2018 homecoming game. It was an amazing game, and I am also excited to see how the rest of their season goes.

To say the least, homecoming 2022 was one for the books and will be one to remember. I am so proud to be a Panther and I am loving where EIU athletics are at right now, and I hope you are too. Once again, I encourage you to get out there and cheer on the Panthers.

I am so excited to continue covering the teams for the rest of my senior year as it has made it much more exciting.