May 11, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Purdue University men's and women's track and field teams got off to a great start at the 2007 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, hosted by Penn State University on Friday, as the women sit in fifth place with 11 points and the men are tied for third with eight points.
Sophomore Ben Harpenau and freshman Jon Pullum both set personal records to place in the men's hammer throw as Harpenau throttled the hammer 60.77 meters (199-04) to take home the bronze medal, while Pullum eclipsed his previous mark by over four meters with a seventh-place toss of 56.50 meters (185-04). Pullum's throw gave the Boilermakers their 30th NCAA Regional qualifier of the season.
Sophomore Mallory Peck picked up fourth place in the women's pole vault, clearing 3.80 meters (12-6.50) to score five team points. Junior Astin Steward added six more to the team total with a third place finish in the women's hammer throw. Her mark of 58.70 meters (192-07) was just 0.28 meters short of her personal record.
Freshman Lance Moe stands in sixth place after the first day of the men's decathlon, amassing 3,554 points in the first five events. Moe recorded personal bests in every event of the day, improving his personal record by more than two tenths in the 100-meter dash (11.59), leaping 6.36 meters (20-10.50) in the long jump and hurling the shot put 11.82 meters (38-09.50). He climbed six spots in the standings in the high jump, clearing 2.10 meters (6-10.75) to add 896 points to his total. The height qualifies him for the NCAA Mideast Regionals, moving the Boilers' total to 31 qualifiers. He closed out the day with a time of 53.43 in the 400-meter dash, bettering his previous mark by more than half a second.
Senior Lindsey Singleton overcame a tough start to the day to put together 2,559 points in the women's heptathlon, good for ninth place after four events. She stumbled in the 100-meter hurdles and settled for 528 points, but recovered with a season-best mark of 1.63 meters (5-04.25) in the high jump, 9.74 meters (31-11.50) in the shot put and 26.57 in the 200-meter dash.
Competition continues tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. with the men's decathlon 110-meter hurdles. Live results will continue to be available at http://www.flashresults.com/2007_Meets/outdoor/BigTen/.