Redemption at last.

After losing the Ohio Valley Conference Track and Field Championships last year by just half a point, the men’s team resoundingly reclaimed the title that they had held the previous three years.

“Our guys really stepped it up at the championships,” said head coach Tom Akers, who was named OVC indoor track coach of the year. “We had 11 seasonal bests and 8 personal bests.”

The much-hyped matchup between Eastern and perennial powerhouse Southeast Missouri State never materialized as the Panthers ran away with the title, scoring 212 points. SEMO placed second with 151 points.

“We knew it would come down to us and SEMO in the field events,” Akers said.

SEMO was supposed to dominate in the field events. In the

high jump and the long jump, SEMO had the two highest rated jumpers in the conference. What SEMO didn’t count on was Quincy Jackson.

Jackson won the long jump (23-11 3/4) and placed second in the triple jump(47-7) and high jump (6-9), setting personal bests in all three events. Ruffner Francis and Justin Young also set season bests in the high jump at 6-7.

Emotionally, this set the tone for the rest of the meet for Eastern by scoring points in SEMO’s strong events.

On the second day of the championships, the men’s team just needed strong showings from its runners to clinch the title, and Jason Bialka did not disappoint. Bialka won the the mile and the 3000 in addition to leading the team of Steven Edwards, Kevin Atkins and John Sipple to victory in the distance medley relay.

After the championships, Bialka was named indoor athlete of the year by the OVC coaches.

“I was hoping Jarrod (Macklin) and I would share it,” Bialka said. “That would have made it more special than when I won it two years ago.”

Macklin won the 400 and anchored the winning 4X4 relay team with Jermaine Jones, Kevin Christian and Greg Belger. He also won the 200 with a personal best time of 21.73.

Other members of the team also greatly contributed to this true team effort. In the 800, Christian, Jones and Steve Cross each set personal bests in placing first, third and fourth. John Sipple and Atkins set personal bests in the mile, finishing third and fifth.

In the 60-meter hurdles, Belger, Roberts, Jones and Sean Fairclough placed second through fifth respectively. Adam Marriot finished second in the 3000 and Damon Nicholas finished fifth.

In the 5000, Marriot took second and Nicholas and Jeff Jonaitis placed fourth and fifth. Clinton Alexander finished third in the shot put with a personal best throw of 52 feet 2 inches.

“I feel we learned from our mistakes, and last year we weren’t mentally ready and too complacent,” Akers said. “This year we were mentally prepared for battle, but we have to continue to be hungry. The problem is that it is tougher to stay on top than it is to climb to the top.”