Cross Country
Adam Swanson, the fifth-year graduate from Carpentersville is coming back for another season with the Panthers. Swanson was named first-team for the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2022 season of men’s cross country.
Swanson competed in all six of the meets in the 2022 season. Swanson finished the OVC 8K race in third place with a time of 25:10.7.
Sophomore Michael Atkins is coming back for another season for the Panthers.
Atkins competed in five of the six meets, missing the Illinois State University Redbird Invite. As a freshman, Atkins was a member of the OVC Championship representing. Atkins finished 17th at the OVC championship with a time of 26:03.1 for the 8K race. Atkins was also part of the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship and finished 136th with a time of 31:48.9 for the 10K race.
Senior Mackenzie Aldridge is returning for another season of women’s cross country with the Panthers. Aldridge was part of the 2022 first-team All-OVC during the 2022 cross-country season.
Aldridge competed in all six of the meets in the 2022 season. Aldridge placed third at the OVC championship and set a personal best 6K time of 21:58.1. Aldridge didn’t just set a personal best for the 6K, but she also set a personal best 5K time of 18:37.7 at the Louisville Classic.
Redshirt senior Sarah Carr from is back for another season with the Panthers. Carr was part of the 2022 second-team All-OVC as she represented the Panthers throughout the 2022 season.
Carr competed in all six meets in the 2022 season. Carr placed eighth at the OVC championship with a time of 22:29.9 in the 6K race. Carry’s 2022 seasonal best 5K time was 18:24.8 at the Louisville Classic, and her seasonal best 6K time was 21.56.5 at the Bradley Pink Classic.
Football
Junior linebacker Elijawah Tolbert will return for another season for the Panthers. Tolbert was named 1st Team All-OVC at the end of the 2022 season.
Tolbert played in all 11 games and made 10 starts. By the end of the 2022 season, Tolbert recorded 70 tackles, including 32 solo tackles. The star linebacker was also named to the Bluebloods’ first team from The Bluebloods publication. Tolbert is the only Panther that was recognized for the first team. Tolbert is also one of the 10 Panthers on the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Watch List.
Redshirt junior quarterback Jonah O’Brien is coming back for his third season for the Panthers. The quarterback returned to Charleston in the spring of 2022 from Colorado State after recording only one game for the Rams.
O’Brien played in the first eight games of the 2022 season before suffering an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Before he was done for the season, O’Brien was ranked in the top 25 in the nation in completion percentage at 64 percent with an 87-136 record.
Soccer
From Sheffield, England, Sam Eccles had a good season last year. With last season being his first season as a Panther in the OVC, the 6’1” forward scored five goals and recorded one assist as he took 40 shots. With 11 points for the season, two points for every goal and one point for every assist, Eccles recorded the most points in a season for an EIU Panther since 2014. Eccles’ one assist of the season came on a game-winning goal at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Eccles played and started all 16 matches and recorded 1,024 minutes for the 2022 season.
Cam Korhorn ended the 2022 season with three points from one goal and one assist, Korhorn tied for second on the team with senior forward Serra Pizano for the most points in the season. The 5’6” midfielder started in 13 of the 15 games she played. With 24 total shots taken, Korhorn recorded the second most shots for the Panthers last season with a 0.042 shooting percentage and recorded 985 minutes last season.
Volleyball
Senior Panther Christina Martinez Mundo will be returning for another season at Eastern. The 5’6” defensive specialist and libero from San Juan, Puerto Rico was named 2nd Team All-OVC last season.
Mundo was only one of three players to appear in all 32 matches of the 2022 season. Mundo set the second-highest digs per set average (5.08) in school history as well as ranking third in the OVC in digs and digs per set and ranking 23rd in the NCAA in digs per set and 13th in total digs. During the 2022 season, Mundo recorded a career-high of 38 digs on Sept. 2 at Chicago State, and she also recorded her 1,000th assist during the season.
Senior Giovana Larregui Lopez will be returning for another season for the Panthers. The outside hitter from Carolina, Puerto Rico had multiple accolades in the 2022 season, which include 1st Team All-OVC, 2022 OVC Player of the Year, Honorable Mention All-Region, and Honorable Mention All-American.
Unlike Mundo, Lopez appeared in 28 of the 32 matches and made 24 starts. 2022 was Lopez’s first year at Eastern Illinois as she transferred from the College of Coastal Georgia. Lopez recorded 11 double-doubles throughout the season, with at least 10 kills and 10 digs.
Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or zhflippin@eiu.edu.
