April 18, 2009
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field team hosted their final home meet of the season on Saturday, recognizing their seniors, welcoming back their alumni and honoring their former men's coach at the third-annual Dave Rankin Invitational. Both Boilermaker squads added an NCAA Regional qualifying mark to their season count, building the team total to 22 for the year.
Sophomore Bill Hardcastle notched his first NCAA Regional qualifier of the year, hurling the shot put 17.18 meter s (56-04.50) to earn second place in the men's event. He climbs to sixth in the Big Ten standings with the throw, surpassing Indiana's Ben Stephen. Hardcastle returned to place fifth in the discus throw, improving his season best to 50.38 meters (165-03).
Junior Eric Sparks continued to build on his Big Ten-best mark in the men's pole vault, clearing 5.35 meters (17-05.50) to win the event. He's now tied for fifth in NCAA Division I this season with Tennessee sophomore Joe Berry, and is eight centimeters shy of the Boilermakers' all-time top-five list in the event. Senior teammate Ben Pax was third overall, clearing the NCAA Regional standard of 5.05 meters (16-06.75).
Sophomore Josh Hembrough increased his lead on the rest of the Big Ten field in the men's 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 13.87, despite running into a slight headwind. He climbs to 11th in the NCAA Division I standings, sitting just 0.45 off the national leader.
Junior Adetayo Adesanya matched his career-best to win the men's high jump and remains tied for second in the Big Ten and 11th in the country at 2.15 meters (7-00.50). Classmate Chris Kirkwood cleared a season-best 2.05 meters (6-06.75) to tie for third place overall.
Junior decathlete Lance Moe continued his preparation for his two-day event, competing in six events on Saturday. He posted a new personal record in the long jump with a mark of 6.39 meters (20-11.75), while his toss of 11.85 meters (38-10.50) was a season-best in the shot put and he marked 35.56 meters (116-08) in the discus. He bumped his season-best to 2.05 meters (6-06.75) in the high jump, tying for third place overall, and ran 15.88 in the 110-meter hurdles. Moe closed out his day with a season-best split of 53.00 in the men's 4x400-meter relay.
Senior Stephen Bach led a 1-2 showing in the men's 800-meter run, just missing his career-best with a time of 1:51.49, while sophomore Jacob Palmer trailed Bach closely with a career-best effort of 1:52.13. Bach also led off the Boilermakers' first-place 4x400-meter relay, which came in with a time of 3:16.05.
Junior Steve Carlson topped the men's javelin field with a mark of 52.91 meters (173-07), and sophomore David Burroughs bounced a career-best 6.98 meters (22-11.00) to take home second place in the men's long jump. Sophomore Matt De Silva and rookie Ladd Mercer led a 1-2 finish in the men's 1,500-meter run with times of 3:53.58 and 3:56.31, as both were just off their season-best times. The Boilermakers received season-best efforts from freshmen Cale Allen, Stephen O'Donnell and Dominic DeSantis in the men's 5,000-meter run as Allen led the trio with a time of 14:56.41 to post the top collegiate finish.
Purdue senior Ranay Harvey made her 2009 outdoor debut and farewell to Rankin Track in solid fashion, edging out the NCAA Regional standard with her time of 13.91 in the women's 100-meter hurdles, good for second overall. Her showing is the eighth best in the Big Ten this season, and marks the third consecutive season she's secured a regional mark in the event.
Rookie Terri Anderson extended her NCAA Regional mark in the women's discus, taking third place with her mark of 49.49 meters (162-04), good for third in the conference standings. She came back to edge out her career-best in the shot put as well, increasing her regional qualifier to 14.48 meters (47-06.25).
Senior Mallory Peck upped her season-best mark to win the women's pole vault, matching the second-highest clearance in outdoor school history with her jump of 4.15 meters (13-07.25). The jump is the best-ever by a Boilermaker at Dave Rankin Track, the second-best by any athlete at the Purdue facility and matches the 10th highest in the country this season. Junior teammate Brianna Neumann was second on the day, clearing a regional mark of 4.00 meters (13-01.50).
Senior Lauren Scott had a solid final outing on her home track, breaking the 56-second barrier for the first time in her career in the women's 400-meter dash. Scott's time of 55.96 was good for second overall, while junior teammate Rachel Stalzer followed in third with a time of 56.41. Scott and Stalzer also led the Boilermakers' 4x400-meter relay to a first-place showing, finishing with a season-best time of 3:45.34.
Junior Nkeiru Ugwoaba won the women's triple jump, topping the field with a mark of 12.13 meters (39-09.75). Sophomore Emily Breslin matched her top outdoor mark and took first in the women's high jump, clearing 1.70 meters (5-07.00) to maintain a tie for sixth in the conference standings. Junior Sarah Klaczynski clocked a career-best effort in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, crossing the line in 11:19.91 to take third overall and jump up to 10th in the current Big Ten standings. Fellow junior Kristin Phillips clocked a personal record of 2:11.39 in the women's 800-meter run to capture second place overall. Sophomore NaTasha Blair won the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.25, while rookie Stephanie Bonk took home the women's 5,000-meter run title with a personal-record time of 17:41.62.
A select group of Boilermakers head to the prestigious Penn Relays next weekend, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The remainder of the Purdue squad heads down to Indianapolis for Butler's Stan Lyon Invitational.