The Eastern men’s 400-meter hurdles group has done it again.

“Our 400 hurdlers have swept the OVC Championships for the past three years. I would imagine that no other group of athletes has dominated an OVC championship event for that period of time in the history of the OVC,” head track and field coach Tom Akers said.

The men’s 400-meter hurdles group swept the event again, this time at the Twilight Relays in Louisville, Ky. Redshirt seniors Patrick Tortorici, Kris Gehrke, and senior Preston Smith took first, second, and third place. Their times were 52.07 seconds, 52.31 seconds, and 52.56 seconds, respectively. Chad Aubin, also a senior, placed seventh with a time of 53.67 seconds.

Select members of the Eastern track and field team competed in the Twilight Relays. The meet marked the end of the regular season. It was the last chance for Eastern athletes to try and get into the top 48 of the NCAA West Regional rankings.

The men’s 110-meter hurdles group also made their mark.

Sophomore Dominique Hall placed second with a 14.77 second time. Redshirt sophomore Lamarr Pottinger placed sixth with a 15.24 second time. Senior Preston Smith was right behind him with a seventh place finish and a 15.38 second time.

The Panthers notched 20 top 10 finishes and 10 top five finishes. Besides the 400-meter hurdlers, the other top 5 finishers were junior Bridget Sanchez, senior Darren Patterson, redshirt freshman Mick Viken, redshirt junior Joe Noonan, junior Tyler Allen, and senior Tyler Arnholt.

Sanchez placed third in the women’s 400 meter dash with a 55.04 second mark.

Patterson took second in the men’s 200 meter dash with a 21.42 second time. Viken captured third place in the men’s pole vault with a 16′-10″ vault.

Noonan was right behind him with a 16′-6″ vault. Allen won fourth place in the men’s triple jump with a 44′-7″ score.

Arnholt got fourth place in the men’s discus throw. He threw it 17- and-a-half feet.

The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association have the Eastern men’s track team ranked 35th in the nation. Akers said his team follows the rankings closely.

“(The team) takes pride in how successful they have been throughout the year,” Akers said. “It is one of the strongest all around teams we have had in a while.”

The Panthers are now gearing up for the NCAA West Regionals at Eugene, Ore., held from May 26th to the 28th.

Joe Long can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected]