Feb. 11, 2010
Grand Valley State University Big Meet Schedule (pdf)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - With the 2010 Big Ten Indoor Championships on the horizon, and the national indoor meet not far behind, the Purdue men's and women's track and field teams continue their preparation at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet this Friday and Saturday in Allendale, Mich. The Boilermakers have nine NCAA qualifying marks and a trio of athletes sitting at the top of the Big Ten in their respective events, and look to improve their standings this weekend.
The Grand Valley State University Big Meet is scheduled to feature a wealth of top talent from across the Midwest, including Big Ten rivals Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Toledo from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Sun Belt Conference power Western Kentucky and Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) standout Southern Illinois.
Possibly the highlight of the weekend will be the Boilermakers' men's and women's throwers to competition, set to take on an excellent field in the weight throw and shot put on Friday night. Purdue junior Stacey Wannemacher has already proved one of the best in the country in both events, and looks to lock up a trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend. Her indoor school-record mark of 16.47 meters (54-00.50) ranks eighth in the nation heading into the meet, and she's set for battle with three other national qualifiers, including the country's No. 2 mark in sophomore Jeneva McCall of Southern Illinois. The Salukis boast the top-two marks in the MVC, including McCall's toss of 17.06 meters (55-11.75) at the SIU McDonald's Invitational last weekend. Her junior teammate Gwen Berry hit a season best last weekend as well, marking 15.66 meters (51-04.50), while Michigan junior Allison Liske ranks fourth in the Big Ten with a NCAA provisional mark of 15.50 meters (50-10.25). In addition to this powerful quartet, Boilermaker sophomore Terri Anderson looks to storm on to the national scene and surpass the national standard of 15.20 meters (49-10.50). She has a season and indoor career best of 15.08 meters (49-05.75), good for fourth in school history, while she posted a top collegiate mark during the 2009 outdoor season at 15.58 meters (51-01.50).
On the men's side, Purdue junior Bill Hardcastle aims to surpass the NCAA provisional qualifying standard for the second straight season, hurling an indoor career best 17.85 meters (58-06.75) last year. He'll have ample competition this weekend in Eastern Michigan senior Gerald Gersham, Michigan senior Sean Pruitt and Southern Illinois sophomore J.C. Lambert. Gersham has the No. 7 mark in the country, posting a toss of 18.93 meters (62-01.25) on Jan. 9, at the Eastern Michigan Open, while Pruitt boasts one of the top throws in the Big Ten at 17.92 meters (58-09.50) and Lambert has the No. 2 mark in the MVC at 17.32 meters (56-10.00). Hardcastle has a season best of 17.29 meters (56-08.75) from the Wisconsin Elite Invitational on Jan. 29, and aims to vault himself towards the top of the conference standings this weekend.
Other top events on the weekend include the men's pole vault and women's long and triple jumps. The men's pole vault should feature three of the nation's top-20 competitors in Purdue senior Eric Sparks, Central Michigan senior Marcus Briedinger and Southern Illinois sophomore Cody Doerflein. Sparks has a slight edge on the group, clearing an indoor career best 5.31 meters (17-05.00) at the Indiana-Purdue Dual meet on Jan. 16, to match the No. 15 mark in the country. Briedinger and Doerflein own matching heights of 5.30 meters (17-04.50) to share the No. 17 clearance in the nation, as Briedinger cleared the mark at Michigan on Jan. 22, while Doerflein accomplished the feat on Jan. 15 on his home track.
The women's long jump field will be similarly tough, with three of the top-20 marks in the nation set to compete. Purdue sophomore Leah Eber headlines the group with a mark of 6.23 meters (20-5.25) at the Wisconsin Elite Invitational, good for the Boilermakers' indoor school record, the top mark in the Big Ten and the No. 14 jump in the nation. Just trailing her in the NCAA Division I standings is Southern Illinois sophomore Malaikah Love and Boilermaker senior Christina Madison, who rank 17th and 20th in the country, respectively. Love has a top mark of 6.21 meters (20-04.50), while Madison leapt an indoor career best 6.19 meters (20-03.75) at the Gene Edmonds Cup on Jan. 23.
Madison and senior teammate Nkeiru Ugwoaba are set to chase Love in the women's triple jump field as Love owns the nation's No. 10 mark at 12.96 meters (42-06.25), while the Boilermaker pair are both fresh off season bests last weekend. Ugwoaba won the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational crown on Saturday, bouncing 12.63 meters (41-05.25), while Madison was third on the day with a career-best mark of 12.52 meters (41-01.00), good for fifth all-time indoors at Purdue.
Action is set to start Friday at 4 p.m. with the invitational field events, and resume Saturday at 10 a.m. A full recap and results of each day will be available upon the completion of each day's competition at PurdueSports.com.