Seven teams from the Midwest, representing five conferences, will be in Charleston for the Big Blue Classic track and field meet Thursday through Saturday.

The Missouri Valley Conference will have the most representatives, as athletes from Bradley University, Illinois State and Indiana State are all scheduled to appear. Mid-majors, including the Horizon League and Mid-American Conference, will send talent from Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Ball State, respectively. Western Illinois, from the Mid-Continent Conference and Ohio Valley Conference Panthers of the will compete in Eastern’s only home outdoor track and field meet of the year.

All schools, with the exception of Bradley will be sending their men’s and women’s programs. The Braves’ women’s crew will only be in the competition, but that squad features two women who had a field day during the indoor EIU Mega Meet and the EIU Quadrangular in January.

Tam Hart, a senior sprinter for the Braves, finished third in the mile run at the EIU Mega Meet and, a week later, took home first place in the 1,000-meter run at the EIU Quad. Hart’s teammate, junior Teresa Caplinger, impressed in the mile by winning the event at the EIU Mega Meet. Both will be back this weekend.

The Redbirds of Illinois State will be flying high as they arrive from Normal. The men and women both started their outdoor seasons strong by placing second at the Saluki Spring Classic last week in Carbondale. Illinois State has a solid hammer and shot put crew led by Rhett Hillard who won both events at the Saluki Classic.

Indiana State got off to a fast start with the men and women winning the Bulldog Invitational hosted by Mississippi State last weekend. The Sycamores have a very talented sophomore sprinter in Alicia Miller. Miller won the 400-meter dash in 55.74, nearly two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee got its season underway by participating in a meet at Western Michigan last Saturday. The event was not team-scored, but UW-Milwakee did have several strong performances including three first place finishers. Freshmen Ryan Mosher (100-meter) and Sean Cludy (triple jump) were both victorious, and junior Eric Gresham won the 400-meter dash.

The Ball State women will head into the meet after a disappointing finish at the NCAA Championships held last month in Terre Haute, Ind. The Cardinals placed 27th out of 31 teams. Senior distance runners Stacie Ritz and Jill Scully are the leaders on a team looking to turn things around at Eastern.

The final opponent for the Panthers will be local rival Western Illinois. The Leathernecks had their opener canceled due to rain. Men’s and women’s head coach Mike Stevenson admits his team may be rusty, but he is confident they are ready to go this weekend in their make-shift opener.

Eastern will face steep competition, but both the men and women come into the meet with confidence.

The men won the 2003 OVC Indoor Championships in March and started the outdoor season right where they left off by winning the Saluki Spring Classic.

Senior sprinter James Benson, who has a history of performing well at the Big Blue Classic, will lead the men. Benson had a personal best run in the 100-meter (10.64) at the 2001 ‘Classic’ and will look forward to running on his home track.

On the women’s side, sophomores Alicia Harris and Angie Simone will need a strong showing in order for the Panthers to be competitive. Head coach Mary Wallace was pleased with how the girls started their outdoor season last week.

Harris, in the sprints, and Simone, in the distances, had a good showing (at Southern Illinois),” Wallace said.

Eastern will get a boost from Tiffany Greenley in the throws. Throwing events are not held during the indoor season and Greenley is anxious to star.

“She (Greenley) is eager to get started and have a good meet,” Wallace said.

Wallace is counting on the team as a whole, not certain individuals, to shine on Eastern’s home track.

“We’re looking for the team to have a big performance,” Wallace said.

The Big Blue Classic will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday.