Feb. 6, 2010
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Purdue senior Brianna Neumann broke the facility and event record in the women's pole vault to lead the Boilermakers' men's and women's track and field squads at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational on Saturday. She was one of two event winners for the Old Gold and Black, surpassing former teammate Mallory Peck for the second highest indoor mark in school history at 4.21 meters (13-09.75).
Neumann took on an impressive field on Saturday, competing against NCAA Division I leader Alicia Rue of Minnesota, Indiana University All-American Vera Neuenswander and Notre Dame's Mary Saxon. In the end, Neumann topped all comers, clearing a personal record for the third consecutive week and securing the No. 11 spot on the national list this season. Her mark is just four centimeters shy of the NCAA automatic qualifying standard and the Boilermakers' indoor record, set by Ebbie Metzinger on Feb. 2, 2002.
Fellow senior Nkeiru Ugwoaba was the other event winner for the Boilermakers, taking home the women's triple jump title with a season-best mark of 12.63 meters (41-05.25). She led a first-and-third finish for Purdue as classmate Christina Madison posted a season- and career-best mark on the afternoon, taking over the No. 5 spot on the Boilermakers' all-time list with a jump of 12.52 meters (41-01.00). Both Ugwoaba and Madison finished just shy of the NCAA provisional standard of 12.65 (41-06.00), and improved their marks of second and third in the conference standings.
Other standouts for the Boilermaker women on the weekend included senior Nan Hammel and junior Emily Breslin as Hammel turned in a season-best time in the 800-meter run, while Breslin finished sixth in the high jump. Hammel finished 15th overall and just shy of her career best with a time of 2:11.15, improving to eighth in the Big Ten standings, while Breslin cleared 1.75 meters (5-08.75) and was the No. 2 Big Ten finisher in the competition on Friday night.
On the men's side, the Old Gold and Black received several high-placing performances, including Geoff Davis' silver-medal high jump finish and Eric Sparks' third-place effort in the pole vault. Davis soared over the NCAA provisional standard for the fourth consecutive meet, falling just shy of his season best with a mark of 2.17 meters (7-01.50), while senior teammate Adetayo Adesanya tied for seventh in the competition with a mark of 2.11 meters (6-11.00). Sparks was the highest attached collegiate finished on Friday night, clearing 5.20 meters (17-00.75) and topping fellow national qualifiers Jeff Coover of Indiana and Kevin Schipper of Notre Dame. Junior Rashad Cannon also posted a high finish late last night, taking fourth in the long jump with a leap of 7.48 meters (24-06.50).
Junior Josh Hembrough was the top conference finisher in a who's-who field of Big Ten competitors in the 60-meter hurdles. Hembrough qualified for the finals with a time of 8.08, and finished with a mark of 8.01 in the finals. Fellow junior Shane Crawford took home fourth in the 60-meter dash, advancing and winning his preliminary heat with a time of 6.90, and posting a time of 6.79 in the finals.
Other impressive showings on the track came from junior Jacob Palmer and sophomore Josh Lee as both secured season bests in their events. Palmer completed the 800-meter run in 1:50.97 to earn 12th place, while Lee scored his first sub-49 second effort in the 400-meter dash, finishing in 48.94.
The Boilermakers return to action next weekend, traveling north to the Grand Valley State Invitational on Friday and Saturday.