Jan. 19, 2008
Bloomington, Ind. -
The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams put together an outstanding performance at Saturday's Big Ten/SEC Challenge, hosted by Indiana University. Senior Leah Kincaid and sophomore Stacey Wannemacher highlighted the day, posting NCAA provisional qualifying marks and breaking school records.
Kincaid replaced her own name in the Purdue record books, notching a mark of 6.23 meters (20-05.25) to win the women's long jump. The distance exceeded her previous record of 6.18 meters and now stands fourth in the country in the event (all national rankings are based on the NCAA qualifiers list at www.trackshark.com published on Wednesday, Jan. 16). Kincaid also hit NCAA provisional qualification in the 60-meter hurdles, breaking the tape in 8.38 seconds. Her time was good for second place overall and was just 0.07 seconds shy of her school record in the event.
Wannemacher put her name in school history in the women's shot put, hurling it 15.73 meters (51-07.25) to earn third on the day. Her throw is 0.03 meters past the previous record, set last year by Sheena James at 15.70 meters. Her mark is now tied for eighth in the nation this season.
Also adding his name to the NCAA provisional qualifiers list was freshman sprinter Shane Crawford as he finished second in the men's 60-meter dash with a time of 6.73. His time is five hundredths faster than his mark posted last weekend and ranks third in school history.
Sophomore Jon Pullum and senior Astin Steward both followed up last weekend's NCAA qualifying performances in the men's and women's weight throws with another excellent showing as both repeated as the winners of the event. Pullum notched a throw of 20.66 meters (67-09.25), just shy of last weekend's 20.78-meter effort, while Steward improved her national-qualifying throw and personal record with a mark of 20.83 meters (68-04.00). The throw is second in Purdue history, 0.12 meters short of the Boilermakers' all-time record and second in all of NCAA Division I.
Seniors Brian Kaluf and Jh'Rome Tuggle added stellar showings on the men's side as Kaluf won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.01, while Tuggle was fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.70. Kaluf's time was 0.03 seconds shy of his personal best, while Tuggle's was 0.05 seconds off his best indoor time.
The Purdue women got a huge boost from sophomore Christina Madison, who completed a 1-2 finish in the long jump and won the triple jump with a new personal record. Madison leaped 5.90 meters (19-04.25) to finish behind Kincaid in the long jump and hit 11.78 meters (38-07.75) in the triple to top the field.
The women's distance area had a huge day as well as sophomore Ashlee Lengacher smashed her career-best in the 800-meter run for the second straight week, while freshman Kristina Krasich and sophomore Kristin Phillips posted a 1-2 finish in the mile run. Lengacher crossed the line in 2:11.36, nearly three seconds fastest than last week's career-best time, and Krasich and Phillips came in at 4:58.80 and 4:59.23, respectively. The trio later teamed with sophomore Nan Hammel to win the 4x800-meter relay, notching a time of 9:09.69.
The Boilermakers look to continue their success next weekend as they host Indiana State and Missouri State for the Gene Edmonds Cup.