Men's Track Cracks National Top 40
Tuesday, April 26 2011 - Kansas RelaysPanthers ranked 11th in Midwest Region
NEW ORLEANS - Following a strong effort at the Kansas Relays over the weekend Eastern Illinois men's track cracked the top 40 nationally as the Panthers currently rank 38th in the poll released by the USTFCCCA. The Panther men are also ranked 11th in the Midwest Region.
EIU will return to action this weekend with select athletes competing at the Drake Relays while the remaining team members will compete on Saturday at the Stan Lyons Invite in Indianapolis.
The national rankings are based on projections of how athletes would fare at the NCAA Championships. EIU scored its national ranking with four athletes currently landing in the national top 48 spots for their events. Zye Boey was ranked twice as he is currently 8th in the nation in the 100m while ranking 10th in the nation in the 200m. Mick Viken holds the highest ranking for a Panther competitor as he is 5th in the nation in the pole. Senior Tyler Arnholt is currently ranked 47th nationally in the discus.
The Panthers compete in the Midwest Region which includes NCAA Division I schools from the states of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
The top four spots in the Midwest Region remained the same as Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and Oklahoma all held on to their current positions. Kansas climbed up three spots to fifth after hosting the Kansas Relays last weekend. Missouri, Illinois, Iowa State, Wichita State and Kansas State rounded out the top ten. Eastern Illinois led the final five schools in the region followed by Southern Illinois, Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Oklahoma State.