Sports
Track and Field Travels North for Gary Wieneke Memorial
Story Links Gary Wieneke Memorial Demirjian Park | Champaign, Ill. May 2-3 | 11:30am (Fri) 10am (Sat) Schedule (TBA) | Live Stats ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois Indoor Track and Field team is heading north up I-57 to participate in the University of Illinois Gary Wieneke Memorial at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill., […]
Gary Wieneke Memorial
Demirjian Park | Champaign, Ill.
May 2-3 | 11:30am (Fri) 10am (Sat)
Schedule (TBA) | Live Stats
ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois Indoor Track and Field team is heading north up I-57 to participate in the University of Illinois Gary Wieneke Memorial at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill., on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3. This marks the second time this calendar year that Eastern Illinois has traveled to the University of Illinois for a Track and Field events as they competed in the Fighting Illini Challenge and Combined Events on Friday, Jan. 24.
Day one action will showcase only a few events from each the sprinters, jumpers, distance, and field athletes. Friday will kick off with only four events on the oval –100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, 200m dash, and 5000m run. Meanwhile, field events and jumps will get started with hammer throw, javelin, and the triple jump.
Saturday’s will feature the remainder of the events throughout the day, ending with the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay in the evening.
EIU EARLY BIRD RECAP: The Eastern Illinois track and field team wrapped up a successful weekend at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational at Owsley B. Frazier Cardinal Park, highlighted by multiple top finishes and personal or season bests.
Graduate distance runner Mackenzie Aldridge also competed Thursday at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, placing 18th in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:37.85.
Isabella Fabrizio opened the meet strong for the Panthers, finishing seventh in the shot put with a mark of 13.03 meters and 10th in the hammer throw with a personal-best 50.83 meters. Sam Bradbury followed with a 15.29-meter toss in the men’s shot put, also placing seventh.
Distance runners Kylie Haacke, Rylea Borgic and Cale Smith continued their strong seasons. Haacke ran a personal-best 17:44.89 to finish sixth in the 5,000. Borgic earned a personal best and placed fourth in the 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 11:03.22. Smith won the men’s 3,000 steeplechase in 9:18.16.
In the high jump, Kenyetietta Quinn won the “C” flight with a personal-best jump of 1.65 meters, while Porter Conroy placed fifth in the “B” flight at 1.85 meters. Abby Venhaus took third in the long jump with a season-best 5.71 meters as Abraham Johnson finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 15.26 meters.
Sprinter Daniel Lacy headlined the Panthers on the track, winning the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 46.39 seconds.
OVC TOP THREE: Ten Panther athletes, along with the men’s 4x100m Relay teams, currently sit in one of the top three spots in the OVC for their respective events.
Kylie Haacke’s performance in the 10,000m run at the WashU Distance Carnival has earned her the third spot on the podium in the OVC, as Rylea Borgic’s time of 11:03.22 in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Louisville has also earned her the second place spot in the conference. Cale Smith also recorded a strong 3000m Steeplechase finish at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Open, crossing the finish line in 9:18.16 to sit second in the OVC.
The Panther men’s 4x100m relay team, consisting of Jahleel Perrin, Daniel Lacy, Shawn Lacy, and Isreal Jackson posted a season best time last weekend, crossing the finish line in 40.93 to slide into the second place spot in the conference.
Daniel Lacy currently holds the second-place spot the 200m dash and the 4th place spot in the 100m dash. Lacy posted a time of 21.22 in the 200m at the Pacesetter Invitational and followed up with a time of 10.63 at the Normal Invite. His 400m time of 46.93 also puts him at the top of the 400m dash list in the OVC.
Abraham Johnson continues to build his freshman resume, as he currently holds the first-place spot in the triple jump after his performance at the Normal Invite on April, 11th. Taryn Tarquin also manufactured success in the sand pit, sliding into the third place spot in the OVC in the triple jump after posting a mark of 12.13m at the Gibson Invitational. In addition, Elijah Skutt moves his way onto the high jump leaderboards, posting a height of 2.01m at the Normal Invite to slide into the third place spot.
Hallee Thomas also had a successful home meet, securing the third-place spot in the conference in the 400m hurdles after posting a time of 1:02.79.
Sam Bradbury and Alex Stout fill out the leaderboard for the Panthers in the field events, as Bradbury holds third for the discus Stout sits in third for shot put.
NEXT UP: The Panthers are back in action next weekend for their final regular season meet of the 2025. EIU is slotted to head east to Terre Haute, Ind. for the third time this outdoor season to compete in the Sycamore Open at Gibson Track & Field Complex on Friday, May 9th.
Eastern Illinois will then prepare for the OVC Outdoor Championships the following weekend, hosted on May 15-17 at Abe Stuber Track Complex on the campus of Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo.