Eastern Illinois University announced on May 2 that its track and field team achieved four first place finishes during the Illinois Gary Wieneke Memorial competition.
The results highlight notable performances from several athletes, with four marks entering the university’s career Top 10 records. The Panthers’ strong showing included victories by Cale Smith, Nathan Kirby, Ashlyn Denney, and Marco Reynolds.
Smith won the men’s steeplechase on Friday with a time of 9:05.99, marking the team’s only first place finish on the opening day. On Saturday, Kirby secured a win in the men’s 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.12 seconds—one second faster than his previous best—which now ranks him tenth all-time at Eastern Illinois University.
Denney claimed victory in the women’s 800 meter run for her second consecutive week posting a school top ten mark. Her winning time of 2:09.03 moves her up to fifth best in school history. Reynolds completed the list of event winners for EIU by taking first place in the women’s discus throw with a distance of 144 feet, seven inches.
Other notable performances included Layla Bonilla achieving third best all-time at EIU in women’s triple jump with her second-place mark of 41 feet, three and one-quarter inches on Friday night. Analena Peterson moved up to seventh on EIU’s career list for the women’s 200 meter run after finishing third with a time of 24.09 seconds.
Additional top three finishes came from Tyler Miller (second in men’s 400 hurdles), Ayden Cothern (second in men’s 200 meters), Shawn Lacey (second in javelin), David Tuala (third in men’s 100 meters), and Ethan McBride (third in long jump).
The weekend’s results reflect continued progress for Eastern Illinois University’s track and field program as athletes improve their standings within school records.
