Jan. 21, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams are set to host Indiana State University in the 15th-Annual Gene Edmonds Cup this Saturday in Lambert Fieldhouse. The Boilermakers carry an unblemished 14-0 record in the history of the event and look to track down their 15th consecutive win this weekend.
The Gene Edmonds Cup series started in 1995, starting an annual combined men's and women's indoor track and field meet between the Boilermakers and Sycamores. The contest scores the top-two finishers for each team, awarding five points for first place, three for second, second for third and one for fourth. The meet will score just the top relay team for each side, awarding five points to first place and three points for second. Last year's competition ended in a 179-139 victory for the Old Gold and Black, marking one of the closer battles in recent history. The Boilermakers won nine individual events on the day, and managed to also top the visiting 25th-ranked University of Louisville on the women's side, 90-63.
Saturday's action will feature several key head-to-head battles, including a pair of NCAA Championships caliber events. The women's pole vault and men's high jump both at least one former national championship qualifier on each side and should provide some fireworks. Purdue senior Brianna Neumann and Indiana State senior Kylie Hutson have both already cleared the NCAA provisional standard in the women's pole vault as Hutson sits seventh in the nation with her top mark of 4.15 meters (13-07.25), while Neumann is tied for ninth in the country at 4.10 meters (13-05.25). Hutson won both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in 2009 and managed to break the Lambert Fieldhouse record during the year as well, clearing 4.11 meters (13-05.75). Neumann is fresh off her indoor career record, set two weeks ago at the Purdue Invitational, and looks to reclaim the Boilermakers home facility record this weekend.
Purdue senior Adetayo Adesanya and Indiana State junior Major Clay are set for battle in the men's high jump, owning two of the 21 NCAA provisional qualifiers in the event this season. Both qualified for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, where Adesanya captured fifth place and earned All-America honors with a career-best mark of 2.20 meters (7-02.50). Clay currently sits tied for fifth in the country with his season-best of 2.19 meters (7-02.25), while Adesanya is tied for 11th with the standard of 2.14 meters (7-00.25). Also throwing his name into the ring is Purdue freshman Geoff Davis, who added his name to the NCAA provisional qualifiers list last weekend with a mark of 2.14 meters (7-00.25) at the Indiana Dual.
Other interesting event matchups this weekend include the men's and women's 800-meter runs, the men's and women's triple jumps and the men's 60-meter dash. The men's 800-meter run pits Purdue junior Jacob Palmer against Sycamore sophomore Jeremiah Vaughan. Both are fresh off season-bests in the event as Palmer ran 1:52.70, while Vaughan clocked a time of 1:53.21. On the women's side, Boilermaker junior Nan Hammel will battle Indiana State standout senior Erica Moore as Hammel improved her season-best by nearly four seconds last weekend, cutting it to 2:13.33, while Moore has already earned NCAA provisional qualification with her time of 2:08.85. Hammel's indoor career best in the event came last season as she ran a time of 2:10.89 at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational.
Boilermaker junior Rashad Cannon will square off with the top mark in the Missouri Valley Conference in the men's triple jump as Sycamore sophomore Ernest Rollins comes to Lambert with a top mark of 14.56 meters (47-0.25). Cannon competed in the triple jump for the first time this season last weekend, marking 14.31 meters (46-11.50) to earn the No. 9 mark in the Big Ten this year. Defending Big Ten Indoor Champion Nkeiru Ugwoaba leads the Purdue women in the triple jump, set to go head-to-head with Indiana State senior Lauren Martin. Martin earned All-America honors at both the indoor and outdoor national meets in 2009, and owns a season-best mark of 12.31 meters (40-04.75). Ugwoaba leapt a season best 12.35 meters (40-06.25) last weekend, and looks to chase down her own Boilermaker indoor record of 12.90 meters (42-04.00) set last season.
Purdue junior Shane Crawford faces another test this weekend in the men's 60-meter dash in the form of Indiana State junior Daryl Truitt. Truitt owns the Missouri Valley Conference's top time this season at 6.86 seconds, while Crawford sits atop the Big Ten standings with his mark of 6.72 seconds from the Purdue Invitational.
Other Boilermakers to keep an eye on this weekend include senior Eric Sparks and junior Stacey Wannemacher. Sparks hit NCAA provisional qualification in his season debut in the men's pole vault last weekend, clearing an indoor personal record 5.31 meters (17-05.00). The mark is tied for eighth in the country heading into the weekend and is just 10 centimeters off the Boilermakers' all-time indoor top-five list. Wannemacher is set to return to competition, sitting out last weekend's Indiana Dual after breaking her own Purdue indoor women's shot put record at the Purdue Invitational. Her toss of 16.24 meters (53-03.50) is good for sixth in the nation this season and well past the NCAA provisional standard of 15.20 meters (49-10.50). She also smashed her career best in the weight throw at the Purdue Invitational, hurling it 18.18 meters (59-07.75), which is just shy of both the Boilermakers' all-time top-five list and NCAA provisional qualification.
Action is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with a variety of field events, while running events should commence at approximately 12 p.m. Live results will be available at PurdueSports.com, courtesy of Delta Timing Group.