Outdoor Track & Field Heads to Terre Haute

By East Central Reporter Reports

Apr 8, 2022

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois Outdoor Track & Field heads to Terre Haute, Indiana where both the men and women will compete in the Indiana State Pacesetter Sports Invitational. Events will begin on Friday, April 8 at 3:00pm with the Men's and Women's Hammer Throw and Javelin Throw. The action will then pick up on Saturday, April 9 with Field events set to begin at 11:00am and Track events set to begin at 12:30pm.

LAST MEET: The Panthers competed in the EIU Big Blue Classic last Friday, April 1 where multiple athletes finished first place in their respective events. Jenna Grzeskowiak set a new personal best and finished in first place in the hammer throw with a distance of 159'11". On the men's side, Bradley Olysav finished first with a distance of 184'10", while Bo Braunecker came in second at 175'.

In the men's long jump, Ramsey Hunt finished first and set a new career high with a mark of 24'11.5" (7.60m). In the women's triple jump, Taryn Tarquin finished first with a mark of 34'11.25".

For the track portion of the event, EIU finished first in the women's 4 x 100m relay, as the quartet of Vivica Coleman, Danielle Frank, Zakiya Johnson, and Akiya Kollore finished with a time of 46.63. On the men's side of the relay, the Panthers saw both of their quartet's take the top two spots. Quartet A, which consisted of Hopkins and three sophomores in Jahleel Perrin, Brailyn Johnson, and Ricky Johnson, finished in first place with a time of 41.39. Quartet B, which consisted of Colin Marchio, Jason Miller, Damian Clay, and Tadiwa Mhonde, finished in second place with a mark of 42.40.

In the men's 1500m, senior Josh Whitaker finished first with a time of 3:55.32. In the women's 100m hurdles, Kollore finished in first with a time of 14.21. In the men's 110m hurdles. In the women's 100m run, Coleman finished first with a time of 12.26.

The Panthers occupied all three of the top spots in the women's 400m hurdles, as Shanisa Stinson came in first with a time of 1:06.24, Mckenna Wojcicki came in second at 1:06.40, and Hallee Thomas came in third with a time of 1:08.45. Riley Baker came in first in on the men's side with a time of 53.78.

Katie Springer came in first in the women's 800m with a time of 2:19.71. Franky Romano finished first in the men's 800m with a time of 1:55.24. Lindsey Carlson finished second in the women's 5000m and set a new school record with a time of 16:34.50.

ATHLETE TO WATCH: Senior Kate Bushue finished in third place in the women's 5000 meter run in last week's Big Blue Classic, right behind Lindsey Carlson. She set a new personal best time and moved into sixth place in EIU school history with a time of 17:13.49. Bushue also currently ranks 10th in school history in both the 1,500 meter run and the 10,000 meter run. She will look to continue her momentum as she participates in the women's 800 meter run on Saturday.

UPCOMING: The Panthers will head out to Torrance, Calif. for the Mt. Sac Relays which will be held Thursday, April 14-Saturday, April 16.

HEAD COACH: Keith Roberts was hired as the new Director of Track and Field for the Panthers, and is entering his first season as the head track and field coach. He becomes just the fourth director of track and field in the program's NCAA Division I history. Roberts arrives at EIU after serving six years as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh. During his time there, Roberts helped with Pitt's transition from the Big East to the ACC. With his assistance the men's track and field team rose from 11th in the conference to 4th place. Roberts has recruited and coached ACC scorers in the women's 60 hurdles, men's 60 hurdles, women's 100m dash, men's 200m dash, women's 400m dash, men's 400m dash, women's 400 hurdles, men's 400 hurdles, men's and women's 4x100 relay and men's and women's 4x400 relay.