May 29, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams battled their way through the first day of the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, hosted by the University of Louisville on Friday. Both the men's and women's team grabbed three team points as the Purdue men sit tied for 19th place, while the women are tied for 17th.
Junior Adetayo Adesanya picked up the Boilermakers' first points of the meet, placing sixth in the men's high jump. Adesanya matched his career-best mark of 2.16 meters (7-01.00) and made himself eligible for an at-large bid to the NCAA Outdoor Championship meet. He entered the regional meet tied for the 16th-best mark in the nation and will have a solid shot at making the national championships. Fellow juniors Lance Moe and Chris Kirkwood fell just shy of scoring, placing ninth and 10th with matching heights of 2.09 meters (6-10.25)
Sophomore Josh Hembrough advanced to the finals of the men's 110-meter hurdles, finishing second in his heat and clocking the fourth-fastest preliminary time with a mark of 13.90. He'll look to grab an automatic qualifier for the second straight year and will pick up some team points tomorrow at 4:55 p.m.
Junior Brianna Neumann put the Purdue women on the board, tying for sixth place in the pole vault. She cleared 4.01 meters (13-01.75) on her first attempt matching Arkansas' Tina Sutej and Tara Diebold. Senior Mallory Peck and freshman Elizabeth Stover both were unable to clear their opening heights and didn't turn in marks.
Junior Stacey Wannemacher had a great start to her weekend, finishing ninth in the women's hammer throw with a huge personal record of 58.10 meters (190-07). The toss exceeded her previous best by nearly two meters and bumps her to fifth all-time at Purdue in the event. Wannemacher now owns spots on three of the Boilermakers' top-five lists, holding the indoor and outdoor shot put records as well.
Rookie Terri Anderson knocked Wannemacher off the Boilermakers' all-time top-five list in the women's discus with a personal-record toss and eighth-place finish. Anderson unleashed a throw of 50.52 meters (165-09) on her second throw to qualify for finals and pick up a team point for the Old Gold and Black.
Seniors Ranay Harvey and Stephen Bach, juniors Kristin Phillips and Nan Hammel, and freshman Ladd Mercer all missed the finals of their respective track events and wrapped up their season. Harvey finished 17th in the women's 100-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 13.86, and Bach placed 16th in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.85. Phillips just missed finals in the women's 1,500-meter run, running a time of 4:35.10 to finish 14th, Hammel was 22nd in the women's 800-meter run with a time of 2:13.37, and Mercer took 18th in the men's 1,500-meter run with a mark of 3:52.04. Sophomore Bill Hardcastle finished 12th in the men's shot put with a mark of 16.94 meters (55-07.00).
Competition resumes tomorrow at 11 a.m. as senior Kara Patterson looks to win her fourth NCAA Mideast Regional crown in the women's javelin throw.