WashU Distance Carnival
St. Louis, Mo. (Francis Olympic Field)
Thursday, Mar. 27th | Friday, Mar. 28th
6:00 p.m. Thurs. | 11 a.m. Fri.
Schedule (PDF) | Live Results
 
Pacesetter Invitational
Terre Haute, Ind. (Gibson Track & Field Complex)
Saturday, Mar. 29th 11 am (Field) | 1 pm (Track)
Schedule (PDF) | Live Results (TBD)

ON-TAP: Coming off of third (men's) and fifth (women's) place finishes in the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships just a month ago, Eastern Illinois Track & Field kicks off their outdoor season on Thursday, Mar. 27th as they head west to St. Louis, Mo. to compete in the WashU Distance Carnival at Francis Olympic Field. Thursday's event will begin in the evening, starting around 6:00 pm as the Friday session begins at 11am. Friday's portion will feature the running finals, consisting of the 800m, 1500m, 5k, and 10k races.

The Panthers will then head to Terre Haute, Ind. on Saturday, Mar. 29 to compete in the Pacesetter Invitational at Gibson Track & Field Complex. The Field athletes are scheduled to begin at 11am while the Track athletes will start at 1pm. RETURNING


RETURNING MEN'S ATHLETES: Billy Bailey Jr. comes into the spring after posting a strong performance during the indoor season. Bailey Jr. was a part of the men's 4x400m relay team that earned a second place finish at the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships. During the 2024 outdoor season, he competed across six meets and ranked second in the OVC after posting a personal best 47.62 for the 400m dash at the outdoor conference championships. Bailey Jr. also recorded a first place finish and earned a gold medal as a member of the 4x100m relay team at the outdoor conference championships.

Joe Stoddard looks to build off an impressive indoor season, where he ranked second in the OVC in the 5k, after posting a time of 14:14.18 at the GVSU Big Meet on Feb. 14. In the spring of 2024, Stoddard competed in four meets where he earned a gold medal in the 5k at the OVC Championships after crossing the finish line in 14:16.45. He also posted a personal best 31:20.59 in the 10k to grab the top time in the conference.

Elijah Skutt had an impressive indoor season, where he held the third overall spot in the high jump and earned a bronze medal at the OVC Indoor Championships. In 2024, stoddard competed across five meets. He finished first and earned a gold medal in the High Jump after reaching a distance of 2.08m at the OVC Outdoor Championships. He also notched two more personal bests in the 110m Hurdles (14.94) and the Long Jump (6.45m) as well.

RETURNING WOMEN'S ATHLETES: Brenda Torres leads the EIU Distance efforts, as she returns after strong 2024 outdoor and 2025 indoor seasons. Torres competed across five meets during the 2024-25 indoor season, where she recorded a personal best 5:07.01 in the mile run to finish first place at the 2025 John Craft Invite. During the 2024 outdoor season, Torres posted a first place finish and a personal record in the 800m race with a time of 2:15.64 at the EIU Big Blue meet on March. 29. Torres would go on to earn a gold medal in the 1500m race at the OVC Outdoor Championships after crossing the finish line in 3:33.20.

Hallee Thomas competed in six meets in the 2024-25 Indoor season, ranking 10th in the OVC for the 60m Hurdles. Thomas also started the indoor season with two second place finishes, one at the John Coughlan Invite and one at the 2025 John Craft Invite.  She also looks to build off of a strong outdoor season from a season ago, where she was able to claim first place in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 1:07.97 at the OVC Championships.

Abby Venhaus also comes off of a strong Indoor season. The sophomore jumper looks to build off of a strong 2025 indoor championship, where she recorded three personal bests in the Long Jump (5.81m), 200m (24.99) and the 60m dash (7.71). Her distance of 5.81m in the Long Jump earned her a silver medal at the OVC Indoor Championships as she finished the year with the third best distance in the conference. Venhaus's freshman outdoor season consisted of six meets, where she recorded personal bests in the 100m (12.04), 200m (25.23), Long Jump (5.78m) and Triple Jump (11.99m). collected three first place finishes and multiple personal bests. At the Eastern Illinois Early Bird Invite, she finished first in the 60m (7.78) and in the long jump (18' 1"). Venhaus also won a bronze medal in the long jump at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships with a distance of 18' 10", which also ranks eighth in school list.

NEXT UP: The Panthers will come back home as they are set to host the Big Blue Classic on April 4-5 at O'Brien Stadium. Friday's section will begin at 2pm as Saturdays event starts at 11am.

HEAD COACH: James Gildon was hired as Director of Track & Field at Eastern Illinois in August of 2023. Gildon is in his second year at Eastern after becoming the fifth director of track & field in the school's Division I history. He joins EIU following a successful stint as the associate head coach at Bowling Green.