April 3, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams kicked off their outdoor home slate on Friday, contesting the men's and women's hammer throw in the Mike Poehlein Invitational at Dave Rankin Track. Reigning Big Ten Men's Field Athlete of the Week Ben Harpenau opened the meet in grand fashion, surpassing his season best with a toss of 64.07 meters (210-02).
Harpenau had an impressive series of throws on the day, exceeding 63 meters four times, including his top mark of the day. The throw is just 16 centimeters short of his career-best mark of 64.23 meters (210-09), which is good for fourth all-time at Purdue.
Freshman Emily Leckenby led the Purdue women in the hammer throw, marking 47.16 meters (154-09) to take home sixth place overall. A pair of competitors exceeded the regional standard as Indianapolis' Amy Schmitz tossed 54.42 meters (178-10), while Notre Dame's Anna Weber won the event with a throw of 58.80 meters (192-11).
Competition resumes tomorrow morning (Saturday) at 10 a.m. (EST) with the women's discus, while running events begin at 11 a.m. (EST), with the combined men's and women's 10,000-meter run.