Track and Field Concludes OVC Outdoor Championships

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Eastern Illinois Track and Field team concluded the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a third place finish from each the men’s and women’ team. The men finished with 157 points as the women finished with 92.

Day One

The morning section featured the first portion of the heptathlon and decathlon. Sach Wolf and Zach Stout secured the fourth and sixth place spots in the decathlon as Anna Jones finished in eighth in the heptathlon.

Isabella Fabrizio continued Thursday’s effort for the Panthers, securing a bronze medal in the women’s hammer throw after recording a toss of 52.66m. This marks Fabrizio’s second medal of the calendar year, after earning a second place finish in the shot put at the OVC Indoor Championships in February.

Jacob Maxwell and Sam Bradbury also posted a strong performance in the hammer throw, as Maxwell finished fourth with a mark of 54.08m while Bradbury followed close behind in fifth with a distance of 50.06m.

The track featured more top finishes from EIU, beginning with Hallee Thomas in the 400m hurdles. Thomas finished in third place and moved on to the finals in the women’s 400m hurdles after posting a time of 1:03.24.

Daniel Lacy and Jahleel Perrin also advanced to the finals in the men’s 200m dash, as Lacy finished with the top time of 21.21. Perrin would cross the finish line in 21.85 to claim the final qualifying spot on Sunday. Kenyetietta Quinn qualified in the women’s 200m dash with a time of 24.50 to finish fifth in the prelims.

The women’s 10,000m run was the final event of the evening, where two Panthers recorded a strong finish. Mackenzie Aldridge pushed ahead late to earn a fourth place finish with a time of 37:27.87 while Kylie Haacke finished sixth after logging a time of 38:23.77.

Day Two

Nathan Kirby kicked off day two for the Panthers, securing the top time of 14.48 in the 110m hurdles prelims to move onto the finals on Saturday. Hallee Thomas followed suit in the women’s 100m hurdles, recording a time of 14:54 to slide into the final qualifying spot.

Sam Bradbury and Jacob Maxwell once again found themselves at the top of the leaderboard in another field event, this time being the discus. Bradbury earned a third-place finish with a toss of 52.85m while Maxwell finished close behind in fourth with a mark of 48.36m.

The men’s and women’s 3000m Steeplechase featured three different Panther athletes who finished in one of the top three spots on the podium. Rylea Borgic headlined the women’s section, securing a gold medal after crossing the finish line in 10:59.53. Cale Smith and Mason Stoeger manufactured success in the men’s division, earning the second and third place spots with times of 9:37.44 (Smith) and 9:39.81 (Stoeger).

Billy Bailey and Daniel Lacy got things started for the sprinters, each logging qualifying times for Sunday’s 400m dash finals. Bailey finished in seventh with a time of 48.47 as Lacy placed second after completing a lap in 47.85.

The 100m dash highlighted two panther athletes who moved on to the finals, one in the men’s division and one in the women’s. Tyler Dillion posted the third best preliminary time of 1:53.30 in the men’s section as Abby Venhaus finished fourth, crossing the finish line in 11.81.

The men’s 800m run featured two more EIU athletes who are advanced to the final heat. Tyler Dillon and Isai Morales both ran qualifying times as Dillon placed third (1:53.30) and Morales placed seventh (1:54.15) to move on to Sunday.

Friday evening’s action was interrupted by a thunderstorm beginning around 5:30pm CT before the decision was made to postpone the remaining events until Sunday morning. The remaining events from Saturday consist of the women’s discus, women’s long jump, men’s high jump finals.

Day Three

Saturday’s slate was filled with finals and championship events, beginning with the men’s high jump that was postponed from Friday evening. Elijah Skutt and Abraham Johnson found success in the event, as Johnson placed fourth reaching a height of 2.02m as Skutt finished third on the podium with a mark of 2.05m.

Abby Venhaus continued her long jump efforts from the night before, claiming the silver medal in the women’s division after jumping a distance of 5.96m. Taryn Tarquin also posted a strong performance in the sand pit, securing a silver medal in the triple jump with a distance of 12.08m.

The EIU men’s 4x100m relay team consisting of Israel Jackson, Shawn Lacy, Jahleel Perrin, and Daniel Lacy posted a strong second place finish after crossing the finish line in 40.88. The men’s 4x400m relay team also found success on the track, as Billy Bailey, Spencer Wilson, Tyler Miller, and Daniel Lacy combined for a time of 3:11.36 to claim the bronze medal.

Four additional Panther athletes finished Saturday’s action with a first place finish in their respective event.

Daniel Lacy once again found the podium, but this time in a solo event in the 400m dash. Lacy proved why his season long OVC record stood strong, earning a gold medal and a first-place finish after recording a time of 47.02. Nathan Kirby was the other Panther sprinter to earn gold in their event, logging a time of 14.30 in the men’s 110m hurdles.

Cale Smith and Isai Morales formulated the success in the distance events for EIU, as they also each earned a first-place finish in their events. Smith would go on to earn his second medal of the weekend, this time being a gold, after crossing the finish line in 3:49.95 in the men’s 1500m. Morales then posted a strong 800m time of 1:54.71 shortly after to claim the final first-place finish for the Panthers.

Final Scores

Men:

SEMO – 216.50

LR – 164.50

EIU – 157

TSU -78.50

SIUE – 59.50

UTM – 52

Women:

SEMO – 191

LR – 123

EIU – 92

SIUE – 72

TSU – 72

LU – 63

Up Next

The Panthers are set to participate in the NCAA West Regionals hosted at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas on May 28-31.