By: by Emily Diekelmann
Full Meet Results
CHARLESTON,Ill.- Getting their season underway far away from home, the men’s track and field team finished third at the Eastern Illinois Early Bird Invitational Friday afternoon. Competing under the guidance of new coach Andy Eggerth, the squad used the meet as a good stepping stone for their new techniques and training.
Coming in third behind winner Indiana State and runner-up Eastern Illinois, the men stayed towards the middle of the pack for most events. The highest finish of the day would come from senior Gianni Catalano, who finished second in the 1,000 meter run with a time of 2:33.63.
“Everybody was pretty much where we expected them to be,” Eggerth said. “The sprinters performed really well today. We have been working pretty hard to learn the new techniques so this was more a training competition than anything. Jemir ran a lifetime best in the 60 meter and Antonio saw a PR too. For our first meet, that is amazing. It was a fun experiencing since our entire team went out to run the 4x400. It was good for team bonding.”
Jemir Martinez would come in fifth overall in the 60 meter dash, narrowly beating out teammate Antonio Logan by a hundredth of a second. Martinez would finish the race in 6.96 seconds with Logan at 6.97. Fellow Owl Kendall Parks would land in ninth, running the race in 7.09 seconds.
Finding success of his own on Friday, Parks would obtain a personal record of his own in the 60 meter hurdles. Running the race in 8.07 to qualify for the finals, Parks would finish fourth while teammates Joshua James and Brian Graham finished ninth and 12th, respectively.
The EIU Early Bird is the only meet the team will be competing in during the month of December. Their next competition is Jan. 7 at the Clemson Invitational in Clemson, S.C.
