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BILLY HAYES INVITE
Date: May 5
Location: Bloomington, Ind.
Live Results

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois Track & Field travels to Bloomington, Ind. for the second time in three weeks, as the Panthers will partake in the 2023 Billy Hayes Invite.  The meet will be held on Friday, May 5 with events scheduled to begin at 1 PM CT.

LAST WEEKEND: EIU had four runners compete in the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa and also posted two first place finishes at the Clark Wood Invitational in Louisville, Ky.

In Des Moines, Sarah Carr and Mackenzie Aldridge both participated in the women's 5k.  Carr finished in ninth place out of 27 racers with a time of 17:22.44 and Aldridge recorded a time of 17:24.10 for an 11th place finish.  On the men's side, Adam Swanson recorded a time of 1:50.81 in the men's 800 meter dash for a 10th place finish out of 22 racers and Richie Jacobo finished with a time of 14:19.37 in the men's 5k for an eighth place finish out of 35 racers.  Jacobo's time ranks eighth in EIU school history.

In Louisville, Akiya Kollore made her presence known right away, posting a second place finish out of 32 racers in the women's 200 meter dash with a time of 24.24.  She would later post a first place finish out of seven racers in the finals of the women's 100 meter hurdles, finishing with a time of 13.52.  It marked her third 100 meter hurdles first place finish of this Outdoor season.

Riley Baker posted a first place finish out of 18 racers in the men's 400 meter hurdles with a time of 52.56.

Gracie Cox posted a fifth place finish out of 28 competitors with a mark of 148'6" (45.28m).  Her mark set a new personal best and ranks ninth in EIU school history.

In the men's 110 meter hurdles, Jekeel Suber finished in second place out of eight racers in the finals with a time of 14.14.

OVC LEADERS: With last week's results, five Panthers currently lead their respective individual event in the Ohio Valley Conference heading into this weekend.

Josiah Neal: 400 meters, 47.82
Akiya Kollore: 100 meter hurdles, 13.43
Jekeel Suber: 110 meter hurdles, 14.14
Riley Baker: 400 meter hurdles, 52.26
Ramsey Hunt: Long Jump, 25'8.75" (7.84m)

Baker's time ranks 43rd in the NCAA West Region and 88th in the country, Suber's time ranks 53rd in the NCAA West Region, Hunt's mark ranks 11th in the NCAA West Region and 21st in the nation, and Kollore's time ranks 28th in the NCAA West Region and 60th in the nation.

NEXT WEEK: EIU will head to the OVC Outdoor Championship Meet, which will be hosted by SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill.  The meet will be held from May 11 unitl May 13.

HEAD COACH: Keith Roberts was hired as Director of Track & Field at Eastern Illinois in August of 2021. Roberts enters his second year at Eastern after becoming the fourth director of track & field in the school's Division I history. Last season, Roberts produced two OVC Athletes of the Year in Dustin Hatfield and Lindsey Carlson in 2021. He coached both the men's and women's team to USTFCCCA Team All-Academic Honors. The EIU program produced six NCAA West Regional qualifiers in 2021-22 in Riley Baker (400 hurdles) and Akiya Kollore (100 hurdles / 200 dash).