Final Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois men's and women's track and field opened the 2014-15 indoor season on Friday (Dec. 5) evening, as the Panthers hosted the annual Early Bird event inside the Lantz Fieldhouse.

Scored as a double-dual meet, the Panther women finished with a perfect 4-0 mark as Eastern defeated Illinois State (129-90), Southeast Missouri (129-92), Illinois (124-89), and Western Illinois (137-76).  The EIU men, meanwhile, earned a 1-2 mark, falling to Illinois State (99-129) and Southeast Missouri (85-126) but out-paced Western Illinois (108-62).

The EIU women got off to a hot start as junior Dhiaa Dean and newcomer Nyjah Lane each shattered previous school marks in their respective first place 600-M run and 60-M dash with new best times of 1:32.94 and 7.53.  Previous school record times were 1:34.28 (2012) and 7.58 (2005), respectively.  Lane also captured first place honors in her 200-M dash with a time of 25.07.

For the men, junior Calvin Edwards crossed the finish line first in the 200-M dash (21.66), while classmate Norvel Mohammed and senior Ephraim Dorsey each won their respective 400-M dash (48.91) and 600-M run (1:20.82) events.  

In field events, junior Angelica Anyaogu led the Panther women with first place honors in the Long Jump (18-01.75) and senior Aviance King topped all male competitors in the High Jump (6-08.25).

Anyaogu also joined freshmen Darneisha Spann and Haleigh Knapp for second place honors in their respective 600-M, 60-Hurdles and High Jump, with senior Katie Ryan also nabbed second in the women's Pentathlon event.

For the guys, Edwards added a close second place finish in the 60-M dash, while sophomore Kendall Williams also earned runner-up honors in the Long Jump.

Both units will now have nearly a month and a half off to prepare for EIU's next indoor event, as the Panthers are set to travel to Champaign-Urbana for theIllinois Intercollegiate on January 17, 2015.

Men's Double-Dual Scoring
Southeast Missouri ... 3-0
Illinois State ... 2-1
Eastern Illinois ... 1-2
Western Illinois ... 0-3
......
SEMO def. ISU ... 123-122
SEMO def. EIU ... 126-85
SEMO def. WIU ... 135-63
ISU def. EIU ... 129-99
ISU def. WIU ... 152-63
EIU def. WIU ... 108-62

Women's Double-Dual Scoring
Eastern Illinois ... 4-0
Illinois ... 3-1
Southeast Missouri ... 2-2
Illinois State ... 1-3
Western Illinois ... 0-4
......
EIU def. UI ... 124-89
EIU def. SEMO ... 129-92
EIU def. ISU ... 129-90
EIU def. WIU ... 137-76
UI def. SEMO ... 102-91
UI def. ISU ... 96-91
UI def. WIU ... 104-81
SEMO def. ISU ... 96-95
SEMO def. WIU ... 113-75
ISU def. WIU ... 103.5-75.5

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID