To many novice Panther fans it may seem sophomore Angie Simone has come out of relative obscurity to win the 5,000 meters and the mile run in consecutive weeks.

But one person who is not shocked by Simone is women’s track and field coach Mary Wallace.

When Wallace took over the reins from the retiring John Craft last May, she knew she had found a talent in Simone.

“She was someone (the coaching staff) thought we could count on,” Wallace said. “Angie was solid last year, and now that she is completely healthy, she is putting it all together. I’m not surprised by her success.”

If it’s possible, Simone’s accomplishments in the 5,000-meter run and the mile have come at a bad time. In the last few weeks, sophomore sprinter Alicia Harris has been rewriting the Eastern record books with her times in the 200-meter and the 400-meter dash. While Simone may not put together record-setting runs like Harris, her coach is very pleased with her performance this year.

“Angie has done a great job,” Wallace said. “She is running very consistent and is peaking at the right time. Her times (recently) have shown me that she is ready to run fast.”

Simone has taken the term ‘run fast’ to a whole new meaning. She won the 5,000-meter run by over 20 seconds two weeks ago at the Southern Illinois meet and was back at it again posting an 18-second win in the mile at the ‘Friday Night Special.’ Wallace believes Simone’s eye-popping wins are due to her physical ability and the competition she is facing.

“It’s a combination (being good and a lack of competition) of both,” Wallace said. “Her win at SIU was more of Angie forcing herself to get out and have a fast time. This weekend, strength of field came into play, but she had a good run.”

Wallace noted that a win is still a win and that both victories were impressive regardless of whom Simone was competing against.

“Both wins are important,” Wallace said. “At SIU she really went out against a hard field and pounded them.”

When Simone won the mile this past weekend, she won an event not known for being her strongest. The Hickory Hills native and Stagg High School graduate is more accustomed to running in the longer distances, such as the 3,000-meter or the 5,000-meter run.

“The mile is not her best event, but her times have been dropping recently,” Wallace said.

Wallace stressed Simone’s times have been decreasing due to a hard work ethic and becoming familiar with the shorter event.

“(Lowering her mile time) is caused by strength of training,” Wallace said. “The mile is an event that deals mostly with foot speed, and she is getting stronger in that area. The mile is like a speed event for Angie because she usually runs the longer distances.”

Thanks to her efforts over the past few weekends, the Panthers now depend on Simone to lead them at all of their meets. Besides running exceptionally well and being an underclassman, Simone has developed leadership qualities this season.

“She isn’t a very vocal leader, but she is more of a leader by example,” Wallace said. “She trains hard, and when she gets into the fieldhouse, she is quiet and goes out and gets the job done. Angie lets her feet do the talking.”

Simone and her feet will play a big part in how the Panthers perform this weekend. Eastern is hosting the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championship this weekend at the Lantz Fieldhouse, and Simone will be called upon in the long distance events.

“Angie will be in two events the three (3,000-meter) and the five (5,000-meter),” Wallace said.

Wallace feels Simone has a good shot to give the Panthers a first-place finish in those two events.

“These (3,000 and 5,000-meter) are her best events and, she will be in the hunt for an OVC win,” Wallace said.