June 10, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Purdue senior Kara Patterson and junior Stacey Wannemacher qualified for the national finals in their respective events to lead the Boilermakers at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by the University of Arkansas at John McDonnell Field on Wednesday. Wannemacher is set to compete for NCAA All-America honors tomorrow, while Patterson looks to claim a national award on Friday.
Wannemacher broke the Purdue outdoor record in the women's shot put for the third time this season, turning in the fifth-best preliminary mark on the day at 16.53 meters (54-02.75). The toss came on her second attempt of the afternoon, falling just shy of the automatic qualifying mark, but locking up her first career NCAA finals appearance in her three national competitions as her throw exceeded her previous best by seven inches.
Patterson needed just one throw to secure her second consecutive trip to the national finals in the women's javelin throw, exceeding the automatic qualifying standard on her first toss. Despite getting caught in a strong sideways wind, the throw still managed to go 54.74 meters (179-07).
"I was nervous about the qualifier because you never know what could happen," said Patterson. "I took it pretty slow in my first full approach of the year, and it wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. I'm really excited to compete in the finals on Friday."
Her mark was the second-best preliminary toss of the day as University of Texas-El-Paso freshman Anna Wessman turned in the top preliminary throw at 55.30 meters (181-05). Patterson was one of three automatic qualifiers for Friday's finals as Oregon senior Rachel Yurkovich joined Patterson and Wessman with a throw of 54.33 meters (178-03).
Senior Ben Harpenau fell just shy of qualifying for the finals in the men's hammer throw, finishing 16th overall with a mark of 61.98 meters (203-04). Harpenau fouled both his first and third throws on the day, and would have needed a toss of more than 64 meters to advance to the finals.
Junior Eric Sparks suffered a similar fate, clearing the last bar into the finals in the men's pole vault, but was eliminated based on misses. With the strong winds and light rain playing into everyone, the qualifying bar was moved to just 5.35 meters (17-06.75) with 18 competitors remaining. Only five athletes cleared that bar, reverting the remaining qualifying status to the number of misses at 5.25 meters (17-02.75). With two misses at that height, Sparks was one of the last four athletes eliminated from the finals.
Friday night's action has been put on an indefinite delay due to thunderstorms in the Fayetteville area. Check the Boilermakers' twitter page for updates.