With so much emphasis on what is happening with the Ohio Valley Conference basketball standings, let’s take a timeout to look at a few other things going on in Eastern athletics.

The Panther wrestling team has gone up against some of the toughest wrestling programs in the nation for several reasons. One of the most important reasons is to prepare for the NCAA West Regionals held at Lantz Arena March 8.

Last year, Eastern placed two wrestlers, senior Frank DeFilippis and junior Pat Dowty, in the national tournament. Can the Panthers place someone in the tournament again?

I see no reason why they can’t. DeFilippis has battled injury all season long but could be back on track after beating a ranked opponent Saturday at Purdue. It also looks like he could have the easiest weight class among the top Panther wrestlers.

The Panthers’ lone ranked grappler, junior 165-pound Matt Veach, will not get a break from the usual competition he faces. The 165-pound weight class features some of the top wrestlers in the nation with four of the five being ranked.

He will be up against two wrestlers he has already lost to this season in Northern Iowa’s Drew Kelly and Wyoming’s Levi Provost. Fresno State’s Eddie Gifford is also a contender by being tied for 12th in the nation. It will be a great accomplishment for Veach if he can qualify.

It is still uncertain if Dowty will be able to recover from a frustrating season filled with injuries. If he can get back to last year’s form, count him in for a repeat trip to nationals.

Another issue I would like to address is Eastern quarterback Tony Romo’s completion of the NFL combine. While searching through every source I could think of, I came across NFL.com’s Gil Brandt’s analysis on what was going on with the top college prospects.

He said Eastern Michigan’s Tony Romo is someone to watch out for. Eastern Michigan? Did Romo play for two teams the last four years? That explains how he became one of the better quarterbacks in the nation.

It is too bad the Walter Payton Award winner can’t receive a little better recognition. Well when the draft does take place, what school Romo went to may not be the only mistake people make.

Many teams may be kicking themselves for relying too much on speed and big school experience to understand they have a sound quarterback in Romo. He can provide a consistent performance day in and day out and will not hurt his team with stupid mistakes.

One last thing I would like to do is congratulate a team that may not get the most coverage of the Eastern athletic programs, but is deserving after this past weekend.

The women’s swim team deserves a little recognition for placing first at the Midwest Classic Championship for the first time in more than 10 years. This is a young team that will be around their fair share of meets in the future.