April 26, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams rounded out a busy weekend at Butler's Stan Lyons Invitational, hosted by the Bulldogs at IUPUI's Michael A. Carroll Track & Field Stadium. The Boilermakers saw several personal bests on the day and a trio of event victories on the day.
All three event wins came on the men's side as senior Stephen Bach, junior Eric Sparks and sophomore David Burroughs all topped their fields. Bach and Sparks both led 1-2 finishes in the 800-meter run and pole vault as Bach led sophomore Jacob Palmer, while Sparks finished just ahead of senior Ben Pax. Bach won his race with a time of 1:52.84 and Palmer scored a time of 1:53.92. Sparks cleared 5.20 meters (17-00.75) to lead the pole vault field and Pax matched the NCAA Regional height of 5.05 meters (16-06.75).
Burroughs leapt a career-best 7.07 meters (23-02.50) to win the men's long jump, scoring the Boilermakers' second-best mark of the season and the fourth-longest jump in the Big Ten this season. Junior Lance Moe posted a pair of personal record in his preparation for the decathlon. He scored a top time of 52.04 in the 400-meter dash and also completed the 110-meter hurdles in an impressive time of 15.28. Classmate Steve Carlson notched a season-best mark of 59.01 meters (193-07), good for third overall and fifth in the conference standings.
On the women's side, top performances came from senior Mallory Peck and juniors Brianna Neumann and Sarah Klaczynski. Peck and Neumann scored a 2-3 finish in the women's pole vault with matching marks of 4.00 meters (13-01.50), surpassing the NCAA Regional standard and Klaczynski smashed her personal record in the women's 1,500-meter run, crossing the line sixth overall with a time of 4:37.21.
The Purdue squads reunite next weekend traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for a preview of the Big Ten Outdoor Championship facilities at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Track Classic.