The lower team rankings at the Illinois Twilight meet should be seen as just a small snag for the track and field team. It by no means marks a downhill slide for the Panthers.

The track and field team has only two regular-season meets left before competing in the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championship in Alabama, and the team is sure to power through these meets before taking on conference rivals.

The Panthers faced OVC competitors Southern Illinois-Edwardsville last weekend, summing their conference competition to just two before the championships. Southern Illinois rarely topped Eastern in single events at the Illinois; Edwardsville placed higher than Eastern athletes in five of 19 events for the women and six of 19 for the men.

One factor that played into Eastern’s lower-than-usual team finishes was the fact that the team’s top performers in some events didn’t not participate at the meet. Seniors Ruth Garippo and Riley McInerney, for example, were not present to make waves in distance races and their respective steeplechase events. The team can no doubt handle the competition without their usual standouts, but their presence does make a difference.

These absences can typically be attributed to an athlete’s desire to rest before a major meet or competition. Seeing as the Drake Relays is a three-day trial as opposed to the one-day duration of the Illinois meet, this was most likely the case for several Panthers.

Another explanation for these absences could lend itself to the saying to the effect of not ‘showing all your cards at once’ or however it goes. Anyway, because Edwardsville will obviously be one team competing at the conference meet, perhaps Eastern didn’t want to showcase what they have in store for the OVC meet.

Eastern should fare well at its final competition of the regular season, too. In place of the EIU Twilight meet, the Panthers will this year be traveling to Indiana for the Bill Hayes Invite. This will be the second time the Panthers have competed in Bloomington, Ind., as they did so early in the 2016 indoor season.

While there were no team results for the indoor meet, Eastern managed to post 22 top-five finishes at the Indiana Relays in Jan. These top performances were held by the usual cast of Panther power houses like senior Bryn Buckwalter, junior Davion McManis, senior Jamal Robinson and senior Julie James. These individuals and several of their teammates have continued to have stellar performances that are sure to propel Eastern past its final competitors.

Buckwalter, Garippo, senior Riley Kittridge and freshman Nick Phillips have each said in interviews over the course of the outdoor season that their goals include reaching success in the conference, and they and their teammates should do just that come the first day of the OVC battle on May 11.

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