March 1, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Purdue women's track and field team finished eighth with 38.5 points at the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Indiana University over the weekend. Junior Nkeiru Ugwoaba led the way for the Boilermakers, winning the triple jump and setting a new school record in the process.
Ugwoaba was the Boilermakers' long individual champion of the weekend, setting a new school record and qualifying provisionally for the NCAA championships with a mark of 12.90 meters (42-4.00) in the triple jump. The leap breaks the 21-year old record at Purdue, held by Angela Goodman at 12.82 meters (42-00.75) since 1988, and moves her into a tie for 17th in the country with Clemson's April Sinkler heading into the weekend. Classmate Christina Madison backed her up in the triple jump, earning eighth place and a team point with a career-best indoor mark of 12.19 meters (40-00.00).
Sophomore Emily Breslin got the Boilermakers started on Day 2, tying for seventh place in the high jump with a solid mark of 1.71 meters (5-07.25). She cleared each of her first three heights on her first try, but came up short at 1.75 meters (5-08.75) and matched Michigan's Olivia Both for 1.5 team points.
Junior Ashlee Lengacher and senior Ranay Harvey tallied Purdue's lone track points of the day as Lengacher took sixth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.22, while Harvey was fourth in the 60-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 8.31. Lengacher's placing was her second consecutive at the Big Ten Indoor meet as she took fifth last year in the 600-meter run, and Harvey's showing is her first career place-winning performance at the indoor championships.
Several Boilermakers will take one last shot at NCAA qualification next weekend traveling to either Notre Dame or Iowa State for Last Chance Qualifiers.