Feb. 17, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue University men's and women's track and field teams set or tied a combined 20 personal records at Saturday's Boilermaker Invitational, including a school record and four NCAA qualifying marks.
Junior Sheena James fractured her own record in the women's shot put, tossing it 15.69 meters (51-05.75) to take second place overall and better her NCAA provisional qualifying mark by over four feet. Freshman Stacey Wannemacher followed James in third place with a career-best throw of 14.49 meters (47-06.50). The top throw was marked by Liz Wanless of the New York Athletic Club (NYAC), setting a new Lambert Fieldhouse record at 17.83 meters (58-06.00). The facility record was also smashed in the women's weight throw as former world record-holder Erin Gilreath of the NYAC hurled it 22.41 meters (73-06.25). Sophomore Ben Harpenau posted an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the men's weight throw with a personal-best toss of 19.69 meters (64-07.25) to finish first overall, while senior Rickey Pinkney and junior Keith Hopkins both notched NCAA provisional times in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing first and second with times of 7.84 and 7.86. Junior captain Brian Kaluf finished just behind the pair, tying his career-best time of 8.03.
Other personal records were set by Hopkins, fellow junior Kara Patterson, senior Terrell Thompson, sophomores Frank Dixon, Robert Jenkins, Andrew Smith, Stephen Bach, Ranay Harvey and Amanda VanWanzeele and freshmen Annie Beasley, Dana Bolden, Ashlee Lengacher and Ryan Feeney. Hopkins sped to a time of 7.21 seconds to take third in the 60-meter dash, while Patterson marked 15.33 meters (50-03.50) in the weight throw. Thompson, Jenkins and Smith all bettered their personal records in the 400-meter run, finishing second, third and fourth behind sophomore teammate Zach Logan, who clocked a time of 48.83 to top the event. Dixon raced to a first-place showing in the men's one-mile run with a time of 4:22.53, and Bach topped the men's 600-meter dash in 1:21.25. Harvey and Bolden each cracked a pair of personal records as Harvey earned times of 8.72 in the 60-meter hurdles and 25.97 in the 200-meter run, both good for first place, while Bolden grabbed third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.09 and fifth in the 200-meter dash in 27.14. Beasley edged her career best in the high jump with a first-place leap of 1.59 meters (5-02.50), and Lengacher won the 600-meter dash in 1:37.41. VanWanzeele and Feeney both set career marks in the 3,000-meter run as VanWanzeele completed the women's 3k in 10:39.75, while Feeney topped the men's race in 8:46.15.
Also matching a career best for the Boilers was freshman Adetayo Adesanya, who cleared 2.03 meters (6-08.00) to win the high jump. Senior captain John Porter and sophomore Mallory Peck won the respective men's and women's pole vaults with marks of 5.06 meters (16-07.25) and 4.01 meters (13-01.75), while sophomore Lauren Scott won the women's 400-meter dash in 57.83 and freshman Nan Hammel snagged the women's 800-meter run title in 2:18.44. Other winners for the Boilermaker women included freshman Christina Madison in the long jump (5.57m/18-03.25) and sophomore Danielle Ginther in the 5,000-meter run (18:24.51). On the men's side, Pinkney also topped the 60-meter dash field in 6.91, while sophomore Jh'Rome Tuggle grabbed the 200-meter run title in 22.23 and sophomore Jarris Suggs won the 800-meter run in 1:55.40.
Former Boilermaker LaShauna Harris returned to capture a win as a member of the Indiana Invaders, winning the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.82 seconds.
The Boilermakers return to action next weekend at the men's and women's Big Ten Indoor Championships. The men travel to Bloomington, Ind., while the women are set for Champaign, Ill.