May 1, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams opened competition at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Track Classic on Friday, getting through several scheduled events, while a few others were postponed until Saturday due to inclement weather.
The Boilermakers' women's distance crew had a huge night as junior Sarah Klaczynski and freshman Stephanie Bonk smashed respective personal records in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run. Klaczynski sliced over 19 seconds off her career-best time in the steeplechase, finishing just 10 seconds shy of the regional qualifier with a time of 11:01.64, while Bonk hacked 12 seconds off her season-best in the 5K, clocking the Boilermakers' top time of the season at 17:29.16. Junior Kristin Phillips rounded out the group's performance with a fifth-place showing in the 1,500-meter run, crossing the line in 4:28.39.
Senior Ben Harpenau topped the 63-meter plateau for the sixth consecutive meet this season in the hammer throw, finishing fourth overall and first among collegians with a mark of 63.37 meters (207-11).
The women's hammer throw, men's javelin and men's and women's pole vaults were postponed, forcing the women's hammer throw field to reschedule for 8:30 a.m., while the men's javelin and pole vault events will wait until noon to kick off.