The track and field teams had many top ten finishes during the two days of the Indiana Relays.
On the first day, two records were broken, and there were 13 top ten finishes. Sophomore Haleigh Knapp, who broke the school record at the EIU Early Bird, broke the record again in the women’s high jump Friday night. She broke the record this time with her leap of 5’11.25” which is currently 10th best in women’s NCAA Division I.
Knapp was proud of how the teams performed last weekend.
“There were a lot of personal records and I’d say the team did pretty well,” she said. “We can always keep working and keep getting better, but I think the team as a whole did well.”
Senior Dhiaa Dean also broke her own record in the women’s 600-meter run. She finished in third place with her time of 1:32.91. Senior Janie Howse moved up the Eastern record books in the shot put with her toss of 46’09”. She is now ninth all time and it is currently the second best in the OVC.
Amina Jackson and Quincy Knolhoff also had top ten finishes for the women in the 600-meter and the 5000-meter races. Jackson finished with a time of 1:36.21, and Knolhoff finished with a time of 18:43.42.
For the men, seniors Eric Gordon and Calvin Edwards each posted top-five finishes and had new season best marks. Gordon finished in third place in the pole vault, and Edwards placed fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.85 seconds.
Sophomore Davion McManis and junior Jonathon Boey also had top ten finishes for the men. McManis’ leap in the long jump was the ninth furthest distance in the contest. Boey finished 10th in the 200-meter dash.
On the second day, Boey outraced the competition as he finished first in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.88 seconds. Junior Riley McInerney finished 10th in the mile run with a time of 4:11.61. Freshman Ashton Wilson had a new season best mark in the men’s high jump and is currently second best in the OVC.
For the women, on the second day, senior Amy Yeoman had her indoor best time in the 800-meter run. Her time of 2:13.52 moved her up to seventh place in the Eastern record books. Junior Anita Saffa finished sixth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.69 seconds.
The 4×400-meter relay team of Jackson, Dean, Darneisha Spann and Cassidy Strohl finished in eighth place with their time of 3:55.32. That was the team’s new season best time and it is the fourth best in the conference.
Eastern ended up with 20 top ten finishes total in the weekend’s events. They will travel to Notre Dame next weekend for the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational.
Mark Shanahan can be reached at [email protected]
