The track and field team split its time between the Mt. SAC Relays in California and the Western Illinois Lee Calhoun Memorial Meet this weekend. The Panthers sent seven to California while the remainder of the team competed at Western.

At the Mt. SAC Relays, senior Ruth Garippo set a school record in the 10,000-meter run in her first collegiate race in the event. She placed 40th with a time of 35 minutes, 20.52 seconds which beat previous record-holder Emily Brelsfoard by 40 seconds.

Senior Ivy Handley also set a school record in the event over the weekend in the open division in which she placed 14th. Handley ranks seventh on the Eastern career list after finishing with a time of 36:35.94.

Senior Rachel Garippo is now second all-time at Eastern in the steeplechase. She placed 17th at the relays with a time of 10:42.14.

Senior Julie James rounded out the record-setting performances by the women. James ran the 800-meter dash in 2:09.84, moving her to eighth on the school’s career list. Senior Kristen Paris placed 17th in the same race with a time of 2:11.13.

Seniors Riley McInerney and Jamal Robinson were the only two men that competed in California.

McInerney finished 16th in the steeplechase with a time of 8:53.51. He moved into fourth on the school record list. Robinson ran the 100-meter dash in 10.69 seconds, earning him 25th place.

The Mt. SAC website boasts that the relays are where “the world’s best athletes compete”. This year’s competition was hosted by El Camino College.

The Panthers faced competitors from all across the country and across the world with competitors representing organizations from as far as Japan.

The other track and field athletes racked up 11 first-place finishes at the Western meet.

There were also three school record-breaking performances.

Senior Riley Kittridge won the shot put competition with a throw of 54’4.25”. The performance places Kittridge at 10th all-time in the event.

He also placed first in the discus throw with a mark of 161’1”.

Junior Darneisha Spann is now fifth on the EIU career list in the 100-meter hurdles. Spann won the race this weekend in 13.98 seconds.

Junior Lexie Yealey was the final Panther to move up in school-record rankings. Yealey’s 153’6” discus throw ranks her fourth in the event all-time. She was also second in the shot put with a mark of 42’9.5”.

The Panthers will be reunited closer to home this weekend as the travel to Champaign for the Illinois Twilight meet. Eastern has just three regular-season meets left before the Ohio Valley Conference Championships in May.

Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]