The men and women’s indoor track and field teams kicked off the year with the EIU Early Bird and took home five first-place finishes.

Sophomore Haleigh Knapp was one of the top finishers at the meet for Eastern. She tied for first place in the high jump with Kandie Bloch-Jones from the University of Illinois. They each finished with a mark of 5-feet-10.50-inches. With that jump, Knapp now holds the new Eastern record in the event.

“Breaking the record was one of the most rewarding moments of my high jumping career,” Knapp said. “It has always been something I wanted to do by the time I left Eastern, I just never imagined it happening so soon.

She said that it was nice to see her hard work pay off after having a ‘mediocre’ season last year.

“From here I will continue to train to the best of my abilities,” Knapp said. “My latest performance has motivated me and shown me what I am truly capable of and I’d like to think it’s only the beginning.”

Senior Amy Yeoman took home first-place honors in the women’s 800-meter run. She finished with a top time of 2:16.05. For the men, sophomore Michael Brown led the way in the 800-meter run. With his time of one minute and 56.92 seconds, he set a new indoor personal record.

Junior Riley Kittridge won the men’s shotput. He posted the top throw of the competition with his toss of 50 feet and 11.50 inches. Sophomore Davion McManis rounded out the group of first-place finishers in the long jump. He tied Southeast Missouri’s Jacob Kent for the longest jump.

Eastern had seven second place finishes on Friday night. For the women, senior Kristen Rohrer took second in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:33.59. Junior Bryn Buckwalter hit a distance of 46 feet and 2.50 inches in the women’s shotput. Senior Janie Howse took second in the weight throw for the Eastern women’s team.

For the men, junior Jamal Robinson took second in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Robinson had a time of 6.86 seconds in the 60-meter dash and 22.51 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Senior Calvin Edwards took second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.45 seconds.

The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Edwards, Michael Miller, Derek Williamson and Ja’Marcus Townsend fell short of a comeback victory with a second best finish of 3:22.59 seconds.

The men’s team finished with a score of 136 points, which gave them a second place finish out of six teams. The women scored a 100 overall points and placed third in team standing out of the eight teams that competed.

The track and field teams will get to enjoy a holiday break as they will not be back in action until Jan. 16 as they head to the University of Illinois.

Mark Shanahan can be reached at [email protected]