Spring Break
Column: Panthers show grittiness, pride this week
Dan Cusack / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: Sports
This week, everyone on campus should truly be proud to be a Panther.
The week brought championships, playoff appearances and fantastic individual performances that should make every student proud of our athletes.
This weekend we saw the men's and women's track and field programs back at the spot that they belong, on top of the Ohio Valley Conference in men's and women's track.
After last season when each team failed to win any team title (both indoor and outdoor), the men's team catapulted to first on the legs of senior runner David Holm and red-shirt freshman sprinter Zye Boey catapulted Eastern past all OVC foes.
Not only did Holm and Boey run past opponents all season but they were among the best in the entire nation with times that rival Big Ten, Southeastern Conference or the Big East foes.
On the women's side, junior thrower Kandace Arnold and senior sprinter Chandra Golden were top in the OVC anchoring the women's team to its second conference title in three years.
Tuesday night, both the men's and women's basketball teams were in postseason action.
Lantz Arena was draped in blue as students, parents, faculty and community cheered the women on with every possession, every charge and every basket.
For the second consecutive season, the women's team advanced to the OVC Tournament semifinals with a 71-65 win against Tennessee Tech.
The women's team was pushed to the brink, but like they have done all season long, the Panthers held on to win the game behind strong senior leadership and a boisterous Lantz Arena crowd.
They boast the school's all-time leading scorer in Rachael Galligan and as No. 2 seed in the OVC, they are one of the favorites to cut down the nets on Saturday.
The men's basketball team fell to Austin Peay on the road Thursday, but gave the No. 2 seeded team in the conference tournament all they could handle.
Eastern, the No. 7 seed, had not won a game in Clarksville, Tenn., since 1998, but the Panthers looked like the favorite for most of the game.
When the Govs pushed, the Panthers pushed back. In the end, they were unable to get the victory, but gave the Governors a scare of a lifetime in a game they thought would be a pit stop on the way to Nashville.
Panther athletes showed something to the rest of the conference this week. Whether they were former champions, the favorite or the underdog — Panther athletes came to play.
Dan Cusack can be reached at 581-7944 or at dscusack@eiu.edu.
The week brought championships, playoff appearances and fantastic individual performances that should make every student proud of our athletes.
This weekend we saw the men's and women's track and field programs back at the spot that they belong, on top of the Ohio Valley Conference in men's and women's track.
After last season when each team failed to win any team title (both indoor and outdoor), the men's team catapulted to first on the legs of senior runner David Holm and red-shirt freshman sprinter Zye Boey catapulted Eastern past all OVC foes.
Not only did Holm and Boey run past opponents all season but they were among the best in the entire nation with times that rival Big Ten, Southeastern Conference or the Big East foes.
On the women's side, junior thrower Kandace Arnold and senior sprinter Chandra Golden were top in the OVC anchoring the women's team to its second conference title in three years.
Tuesday night, both the men's and women's basketball teams were in postseason action.
Lantz Arena was draped in blue as students, parents, faculty and community cheered the women on with every possession, every charge and every basket.
For the second consecutive season, the women's team advanced to the OVC Tournament semifinals with a 71-65 win against Tennessee Tech.
The women's team was pushed to the brink, but like they have done all season long, the Panthers held on to win the game behind strong senior leadership and a boisterous Lantz Arena crowd.
They boast the school's all-time leading scorer in Rachael Galligan and as No. 2 seed in the OVC, they are one of the favorites to cut down the nets on Saturday.
The men's basketball team fell to Austin Peay on the road Thursday, but gave the No. 2 seeded team in the conference tournament all they could handle.
Eastern, the No. 7 seed, had not won a game in Clarksville, Tenn., since 1998, but the Panthers looked like the favorite for most of the game.
When the Govs pushed, the Panthers pushed back. In the end, they were unable to get the victory, but gave the Governors a scare of a lifetime in a game they thought would be a pit stop on the way to Nashville.
Panther athletes showed something to the rest of the conference this week. Whether they were former champions, the favorite or the underdog — Panther athletes came to play.
Dan Cusack can be reached at 581-7944 or at dscusack@eiu.edu.
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