Jan. 8, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams are set to kick off the 2010 NCAA Indoor season, hosting the Purdue Invitational this Saturday at 11 a.m. in Lambert Fieldhouse. The Boilermakers have six former NCAA Championship qualifiers on their roster this season, including three 2009 All-America award winners.
The Purdue men placed at the 2009 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championship meets for the first time since 2005, and placed 10th and fourth, respectively at the Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Junior Josh Hembrough and senior Adetayo Adesanya led the way as Hembrough earned Indoor All-America honors with an eighth-place showing in the 60-meter hurdles at the indoor national meet, while Adesayna was an Outdoor All-American, capturing fifth in the high jump at the outdoor championships. Hembrough is a three-time Big Ten Champion, winning the 60-meter hurdles indoors in 2008 and back-to-back 110-meter hurdle titles outdoors in 2008 and 2009. His career best of 7.77 in the 60-meter hurdles is the third-fastest time in school history. Adesanya won the 2008 Big Ten Indoor high jump crown, and has placed in five straight conference championship meets. He cleared a career-best 2.20 meters (7-02.50) at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Senior Eric Sparks and Bill Hardcastle look to post another impressive season in 2010 as Sparks has qualified for the last two NCAA Outdoor Championships, while Hardcastle advanced to the national outdoor meet in 2008. Sparks has won the last two Big Ten outdoor pole vault titles, won the 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional crown and has cleared a career-best height of 5.41 meters (17-09.00). Hardcastle was the 2008 Big Ten Outdoor Athlete and Freshman of the Year after winning the conference shot put and discus titles, and owns the third-best outdoor shot put in Purdue history with a top mark of 18.85 meters (61-10.25). He provisionally qualified for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships in the shot put with his top indoor mark of 17.85 meters (58-06.75).
Other returners looking to chip in include juniors Chris Thoman and Jacob Palmer, who'll compete in the pole vault and 800-meter run, respectively. Thoman placed fifth at the indoor and outdoor conference championships in 2009, and set a new career-best mark of 5.20 meters (17-00.75) at the Billy Hayes Invitational. Palmer steadily improved all season after transferring from the U.S. Naval Academy, clocking a top mark of 1:51.40 late in the year, and looks to break out in 2010.
The Purdue men have several newcomers who should contribute immediately, including junior transfers Rashad Cannon and Chris Kirtz, and freshmen Geoff Davis and Mitch Erickson. Cannon took sixth in the long jump at the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships for Coffeyville Community College (Kan.) in 2009, and has personal records of 7.51 meters (24-08.00) in the long jump and 14.68 meters (48-02.00) in the triple jump, while Kirtz comes to Purdue from Illinois State University after earning all-state honors at the Indiana State High School Championships in the long jump. Both will contribute in the sprints areas as well. Davis was a two-time Indiana State High School Championship placewinner in the high jump, and Erickson won consecutive Illinois State High School Championships in the pole vault and has a career-best mark of 5.13 meters (16-10.00).
The Purdue women's team had their best NCAA Outdoor Championship showing since 1996 last season, tying for 20th place with 13 team points and two All-Americans. They took eighth place at the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Championships, and climbed to sixth at the outdoor meet on the strength of Stacey Wannemacher's impressive performance. After redshirting the indoor season, she piled up 19 team points at the outdoor conference championships, winning the hammer throw, taking second in the shot put and earning eighth in the discus. She went on to place fourth at nationals and set a Purdue record with a mark of 16.53 meters (54-02.75). Wannemacher also holds the indoor school record with a toss of 15.81 meters (51-10.50), ranks fifth all-time in the hammer throw with a top mark of 58.10 meters (190-07) and has placed in 11 Big Ten Championship events in two and a half years as a Boilermaker.
Senior Brianna Neumann is the only other returning NCAA qualifier on the Boilermakers' roster, reaching the national outdoor meet in 2008 in the pole vault. She cleared a career-best 4.25 meters (13-11.25) last summer at the Gill Factory Vault Competition in Champaign, Ill., and is a six-time Big Ten Championship placewinner, including a second-place effort at the 2006 outdoor meet. Neumann owns the Boilermakers' outdoor record in the pole vault, clearing 4.16 meters (13-07.75) at the 2008 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships and is tied for third all-time indoors with a height of 3.97 meters (13-00.25).
The Boilermakers have a wealth of talent all looking for their first national qualifier this season, including seniors Nkeiru Ugwoaba, Christina Madison, Kristin Phillips and Nan Hammel, junior Emily Breslin and sophomores Terri Anderson, Leah Eber and Camille Buscomb. Ugwoaba won the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Championship and set the Purdue indoor record in the triple jump, marking a career-best 12.90 meters (42-04.00). She also posted the fifth-best indoor long jump in school history, leaping 5.91 meters (19-04.75), and the second-best outdoor triple jump at Purdue at 12.88 meters (42-03.25). Madison and Eber have had similar success in the jumps as Madison is tied for third in the indoor long jump (6.06m/19-10.75) and ranks third in the outdoor long jump (6.29m/20-07.75),while Eber is fifth all-time outdoors in the long jump (6.20m/20-04.25). Madison also has a career best of 12.55 meters (41-02.25) in the triple jump and has placed in a trio of Big Ten Championship meets, and Eber scored in her first career conference meet outdoors last season. Ugwoaba, Madison and Eber will compete in the sprints as well for the Boilermakers.
Anderson was the 2009 Big Ten Outdoor Freshman of the Year after placing in a pair of events at the conference meet, including a bronze medal effort in the shot put. She's already fourth in Purdue's outdoor history in the shot with a top mark of 15.58 meters (51-01.50) and fifth in the discus at 50.52 meters (165-09). Anderson also captured sixth place in the shot put at the indoor conference meet last season, tossing an indoor best 14.38 meters (47-02.25).
Breslin captured second place in the high jump at the 2009 Big Ten Outdoor Conference Championships, clearing a career-best 1.75 meters (5-08.75) and qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. She also placed at the indoor conference meet last season, taking seventh, and at the 2008 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, also earning seventh place.
Phillips, Hammel and Buscomb all look to contribute for the Boilermakers on the track as Hammel and Phillips will cover the middle distances events, while Buscomb is fresh off an outstanding cross country season and will handle the distances. Hammel took seventh in the 800-meter run at last year's outdoor conference championships and posted a top time of 2:09.24, while Phillips made the Big Ten finals of the 1,500-meter run and qualified for the regional meet with a time of 4:27.53. Buscomb posted the No. 6 6K time in school history, crossing the line in 21:17.00 at the Big Ten Championships, and just missed the all-time top-10 in the 5K, clocking a top mark of 17:23.56 at the Greater Louisville Classic.
The Purdue Invitational will start on Saturday at 11 a.m., as the Boilermakers host several schools, including DePaul University, Saint Joseph's College and Saint Ambrose University. Timing services will be conducted by Delta Timing Group and live results will be available at PurdueSports.com.