Feb. 4, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams travel upstate to South Bend, Ind., this Friday and Saturday to compete in the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational. The Boilermakers look to add to their impressive total of NCAA provisional qualifiers this weekend, as well as improve upon the nine national marks they already have.
This year's Meyo Invitational features its usual outstanding field, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State from the Big Ten, SEC members Alabama and Mississippi, Missouri from the Big 12, and Big East standout Louisville. The field consists of several national qualifiers in each event, giving some Boilermaker standouts their first tests of the season and providing ample competition in several other events.
The Purdue women have already broken one school record, tied another and tied a Lambert Fieldhouse record this season, and look to continue their successes this weekend. Purdue sophomore Leah Eber and senior Christina Madison have notched two of those marks, both coming in the women's long jump, and are ready for another solid outing on Friday. Eber leads the Big Ten and is tied for 13th in the country with her top mark of 6.23 meters (25-05.25), which tied the Boilermakers' indoor school record last weekend at the Wisconsin Elite Invitational, while Madison is right behind her in the conference standings and ranked 18th in the nation with her top leap of 6.19 meters (20-03.75), which tied the Lambert Fieldhouse record at the Gene Edmonds Cup two weeks ago. In addition to the two Boilermakers, Friday's field also includes two other NCAA provisional qualifiers in Southern Mississippi's Tori Bowie, who's tied with Eber for 13th in the country, and Mississippi junior Rachel Jenkins. Three other Big Ten standouts will compete as well, including Illinois' Alecia Beckford-Stewart who took fourth in the pentathlon at the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Boilermaker senior Brianna Neumann has improved her indoor personal record in the women's pole vault each of the last two weekends, and looks to make it three straight on Saturday as she continues to chase down the Purdue indoor record in the event. Entering the season with a top indoor clearance of 3.97 meters (13-00.25), Neumann soared over 4.17 meters (13-08.25) last weekend to improve the third-best clearance in Purdue's indoor history and climb to 12th on the NCAA Division I list this season. After battling the defending NCAA Champion in each of the past two weekends, Neumann is set to compete against two of Minnesota's finest in senior Alicia Rue and junior Samantha Sonnenberg on Saturday. Rue owns the nation's top mark this season, clearing 4.38 meters (14-04.50) to earn NCAA automatic qualification, while Sonnenberg is tied for 17th in the country and stands third in the Big Ten with a mark of 4.05 meters (13-03.50). Purdue sophomore Elizabeth Stover will look to add her name to the list of the conference and nation's elite as well this weekend, heading into the meet with a top height of 3.92 meters (12-10.25).
Purdue junior Emily Breslin is set for another tough test in the women's high jump as she's scheduled to face four other NCAA qualifiers on Friday. Highlighting the field is Indiana senior Ashley Rhoades, who's ranked seventh in the nation and second in the conference with a mark of 1.84 meters (6-00.50), while Alabama's Krystle Schade is one of the nation's best with a top clearance of 1.82 meters (5-11.25). Breslin cleared a career-best 1.78 meters (5-10.00) at the Gene Edmonds Cup this season, securing her first NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
On the men's side, fans will get a preview of the 60-meter hurdles Big Ten Championship field, including eight of the top-10 times in the conference this season. Boilermaker junior Josh Hembrough has his sights set on an NCAA provisional qualifying time as he'll look to top the defending Big Ten Indoor Champion in Illinois' Andrew Riley. Riley is the only member of the field with a national qualifier this season, posting a time of 7.91 two weeks ago, but Hembrough has won three of the last four conference hurdle championships and is ready to reclaim the indoor crown. Other standouts in the field include Michigan's Carl Buchanon, Wisconsin's Nate Larkin and Ohio State's Jonathan Francois as Saturday's prelims and final should prove highly competitive.
Saturday marks another incredibly loaded field in the men's high jump as Purdue freshman Geoff Davis and senior Adetayo Adesanya look to continue their early season success. Eight NCAA provisional qualifiers look to clear new heights in the field, including Davis and two other competitors currently tied for the nation's No. 8 mark at 2.19 meters (7-02.25). Former All-American Tone Belt of Louisville is one of the two, while Davis and Adesanya are set to jump against Indiana State's Major Clay for the third straight weekend. Davis has set a personal record in three consecutive meets and looks to keep that trend alive, while Adesanya is set to rebound from his first no-height of the season after an indoor personal record of 2.15 meters (7-00.50) at the Gene Edmonds Cup.
The men's pole vault is a second installment of a Crimson & Gold Cup showdown between Purdue senior Eric Sparks and Indiana senior Jeffrey Coover, as the pair look to continue establishing themselves among the nation's elite. Coover won the first matchup, clearing 5.41 meters (17-09.00), while Sparks cleared a season-best 5.31 meters (17-05.00) on the day, tied for 14th in the country. The reigning Big Ten Men's Field Athlete of the Week, Coover cleared the NCAA automatic standard of 5.50 meters (18-00.50) last weekend. Sparks looks to even the score this weekend and crack the Boilermakers' indoor all-time top-five list in the event with a mark upwards of 5.41 meters.
Purdue juniors Rashad Cannon and Caden Shields look to make their marks on the national scene this weekend as well as Cannon will face his first tough field in the men's long jump, while Shields will compete in his first 5,000-meter run of the season. Cannon has hit personal records in the long jump in each of the past two outings, marking 7.56 meters (24-09.75) last weekend to claim the top spot in the conference and No. 20 mark in the nation. Friday he's set to jump against two national qualifiers from Louisville in Belt and sophomore Seon Powell. Belt is currently 10th in the nation with a top mark of 7.68 meters (25-02.50), while Powell owns a best of 7.55 meters (24-09.25). Shields is coming off of the Boilermakers' top men's cross country season in over 20 years, qualifying for the NCAA Championships and setting personal records for both 8K and 10K. He'll take his first crack at 5,000 meters on the indoor track on Friday, aiming for the Boilermakers' indoor record of 14:04.00, set by Donnie Fellows in 2002. He'll see solid competition from South Alabama's Zac Edwards and Barnabas Kirui of Mississippi, who both have seeded times under 14 minutes, while conference rivals Patrick Grosskopf of Michigan State and Hunter Mickow of Illinois should provide a stiff test as well.
Live results for Friday and Saturday's action will be available at PurdueSports.com, courtesy of Delta Timing Group. In addition, a full recap of both days' action will be posted at PurdueSports.com after the conclusion of each session.