Feb. 19, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams are set to host their final indoor meet before the Big Ten Indoor Championships, welcoming approximately 500 athletes for the Boilermaker Invitational this Saturday in Lambert Fieldhouse. The meet will serve as a final tune up for the Boilermakers, who look to chase down some final NCAA qualifying marks and improve their standings heading into the conference meet.
Saturday's field will include various athletes from 11 other NCAA and NAIA institutions, including Western Kentucky, Valparaiso and DePaul. Purdue has 10 NCAA provisional qualifying marks heading into the weekend, including pole vault clearances by seniors Brianna Neumann and Eric Sparks and one of the nation's top throws in the women's shot put by junior Stacey Wannemacher.
Neumann has seen outstanding improvement in her final indoor campaign, clearing four personal records this season, including her top mark of 4.21 meters (13-09.75). Her new career best is good for second all-time in Purdue's indoor history and tied for 12th in NCAA Division I this season. Neumann eyes the NCAA automatic qualifying height of 4.25 meters (13-11.25) this weekend, which would also tie her for the Boilermakers' indoor record as well as the Lambert Fieldhouse record.
Sparks has risen to new heights in the indoor pole vault as well this season, notching a new personal record of 5.31 meters (17-05.00) at the Indiana-Purdue dual meet on Jan. 16. The clearance is tied for 18th best in the country this season and ranks third in the Big Ten, leaving him just outside the probable 2010 NCAA Indoor Championship field. Sparks looks to vault himself into the national top-10 in the event with a height between 5.35 (17-06.50) and 5.40 meters (17-08.50), and lock up a trip to his first career national indoor meet.
Wannemacher is one of the nation's elite in the women's shot put, ranking eighth in the nation with her Purdue indoor record toss of 16.47 meters (54-00.50). She sits just off the Big Ten lead in the event and remains 43 centimeters (1-05) shy of the NCAA automatic qualifying mark, which would make her one of just four automatic qualifiers in the nation this season. In addition to her strength in the shot put, Wannemacher has obliterated her personal records in the weight throw as well, climbing to fourth all-time at Purdue, second in the Big Ten and 20th in the nation with her mark of 19.36 meters (63-06.25) at last weekend's Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Big Meet. She'll need to surpass the 20-meter mark (65-07.50) in order to climb the Boilermakers' all-time standings and earn a shot at a double-qualifier for nationals.
Juniors Josh Hembrough and Bill Hardcastle will look to add to the Boilermakers' list of national marks this weekend as the gear up for the conference meet. Hembrough is on the verge of a breakout time in the men's 60-meter hurdles, searching for a return trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships, where he earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in 2009. He has a season-best of 7.94 seconds, good for second in the Big Ten, but hopes to track down his career best of 7.77, which ranks third all-time at Purdue. Hardcastle has shown steady improvement in the men's shot put this season, chasing his indoor personal record of 17.85 meters (58-06.75), which earned NCAA provisional qualification in 2009. He tossed a season-best of 17.59 meters (57-08.50) last weekend at GVSU, which is good for sixth in the Big Ten standings, and looks to become the fifth national qualifier in the conference this weekend.
If you plan to attend the Boilermaker Invitational this Saturday, parking is available in the campus garages. Parking lots located around the Purdue athletics facilities will be reserved for the 4 p.m. men's basketball game against Illinois. Signs and postings are in place; please plan accordingly. Field events will begin at 11 a.m., with running events following at 1 p.m. Live results will be available at PurdueSports.com courtesy of Delta Timing Group.