Feb. 27, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's track and field team is set to head south to Indiana University for the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Championships on Saturday and Sunday. The Boilermakers look to improve on last year's seventh-place performance, fielding 12 entries ranked in the top-10 of seven different events this weekend.
Last year's seventh-place showing earned the Boilermakers a much-needed point in the coveted Crimson and Gold Cup standings, which ended 2008 in the first-ever tie between Purdue and Indiana. The Boilermakers trail this year's series 6.5-to-3.5 heading into the weekend, looking to make up some ground on IU.
One of the Old Gold and Black's biggest opportunities to score will be in the pole vault as they are set to field four entries led by two-time NCAA Indoor All-America honoree Mallory Peck. A senior, Peck owns this season's third-highest mark in the conference at 4.00 meters (13-01.50), and junior teammate Brianna Neumann sits just behind her in fourth with the NCAA provisional standard height of 3.95 meters (12-11.50). Sophomore Tara Turnbull rounds out the Boilermakers' ranked entries, sitting sixth with a season-best of 3.87 meters (12-08.25), and rookie Elizabeth Stover isn't far behind with a top clearance of 3.81 meters (12-06.00).
Juniors Nkeiru Ugwoaba leads a fleet of Purdue entries in the long and triple jump, boasting the conference's third-best mark in the triple jump this season. She bounced a career-best 12.55 meters (41-02.25) at last weekend's Boilermaker Invitational and is just 0.10 meters shy of the NCAA provisional standard in the event. Ugwoaba shares the team lead in the long jump with classmate Christina Madison as the pair both leapt a season-best 5.91 meters (19-04.75) at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational. Madison will also compete in the triple jump, while freshman Leah Eber joins her junior teammates in the long jump, flaunting the Big Ten's 10th-best mark at 5.85 meters (19-02.50).
Junior Ashlee Lengacher is tied for the Big Ten's fourth fastest mark in the 600-meter run at 1:31.16 and owns the fifth-best time in the conference in the 800-meter run at 2:09.33 and is ready to run either race, while sophomore Emily Breslin is tied for the fifth-highest clearance in the conference marking a career-best 1.74 meters (5-08.50) last weekend. Rookie Terri Anderson hopes to score in the shot put, sitting 10th in the conference standings with a season-best mark of 13.92 meters (45-08.00).
The meet is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Saturday with the Pentathlon 60-meter hurdles, and the first Boilermaker will begin competition at 1 p.m. in the shot put. Sunday's action will restart at 11 a.m. with the high jump. For more information on the championships visit Indiana's official site here.