Eastern Illinois track and field will be sending six athletes to compete at next week's NCAA West Regional hosted by the University of Arkansas. Competition will take place Wednesday through Saturday with the men competing on Wednesday & Friday with the women's competition on Thursday and Saturday.
EIU's six athletes qualifying for the NCAA Regional are
Ramsey Hunt,
Dustin Hatfield,
Riley Baker,
Steven Rowe,
Akiya Kollore and
Lindsey Carlson.
Hunt enters as EIU's top ranked competitor after winning the long jump at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships. Hunt will compete in the men's long jump at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night. He is currently ranked 26th in the West Region in the event with a season best jump of 7.62 meters. This will be Hunt's first NCAA Regional appearance. This season he posted the third best long jump mark in school history at 25'5.75".
Hatfield will be making his second straight NCAA West Regional appearance in the 10,000 meter run. Hatfield is currently ranked 27th in the event in the West Region with a season best time of 28:41.86 which set the EIU school record. Hatfield won his third straight OVC 10,000 meter title last week as he was named the OVC Male Track Athlete of the Year. He finished 45th in the West Regional last season in the 10,000 meter run. He will run on Wednesday night at 9:10 p.m.
Baker will be making his second straight NCAA West Regional appearance after winning his second straight 400 meter hurdle title at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships. Baker ranks 35th in the NCAA West Region in the 400 meter hurdles this season with a season best time of 51.37. He posted the fourth best time in school history in the event this season and will run on Wednesday night at 8:20 p.m. Baker placed 46th in the NCAA West Regional last season.
Rowe will be making his second straight NCAA West Regional appearance after his jump of 6'11" at the OVC Championships last week put him not only on the podium but also into the NCAA West Regional field. He currently ranks 36th in the NCAA West Region in the event and will compete on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Rowe's season best jump of 6'11" ranks fourth on the EIU career top ten list. Last season he placed 40th at the NCAA West Regional.
Kollore will be making her second straight NCAA West Regional appearance but first as an individual. Last season she was part of the Panthers 4x100 relay team that placed 16th at the NCAA West Regional. This season Kollore will compete in the 100 meter hurdles after setting the school record at the OVC Championships with a time of 13.50. Kollore currently ranks 38th in the NCAA West Region. She will run on Thursday night at 6 p.m. Kollore has also qualified in the 200 meter dash after posting a season best time of 23.67. She is ranked 39th in the event in the NCAA West Region and will compete in that event at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday night.
Carlson was EIU's final entry in the NCAA West Regional qualifying in the 10,000 meter run. Carlson will be competing in her first NCAA Regional on Thursday night at 9:10 p.m. Carlson set the school record this season in the 10,000 meter run with a season best time of 34:13.10. She was the OVC champion in the event last week.
