March 28, 2010
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams got their outdoor seasons off to a quick start on Friday and Saturday at the Arizona State Invitational, posting several personal records and top-flight marks. Among the list of standouts, senior Brianna Neumann matched her own outdoor school record in the women's pole vault.
Neumann was one of four Boilermaker women to capture event championships on the weekend, clearing 4.16 meters (13-07.75) to match her Purdue outdoor record height from the 2008 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. The other three first-place finishers for the Old Gold and Black were sophomore Leah Eber, senior Nkeiru Ugwoaba and junior Emily Breslin.
Eber led a 1-2 finish for the Boilermakers in the long jump as she bounced 6.16 meters (20-02.50) and senior teammate Christina Madison was right behind her at 6.11 meters (20-00.50). Ugwoaba and Madison posted a similar showing in the triple jump as Ugwoaba paced the field with a mark of 12.12 meters (39-09.25), while Madison was fourth at 11.98 meters (39-03.75). Neither Ugwoaba nor Madison took any of their final three jumps in the finals of the triple jump. Breslin picked up where she left off in the move from indoors to outdoors, matching her outdoor personal record in the high jump with a mark of 1.75 meters (5-08.75).
Other top performances on the women's side came from seniors Rachel Stalzer, Nan Hammel and Sarah Klaczynski and sophomore Terri Anderson. Stalzer was third in the 400-meter dash, falling just shy of her personal record with a time of 56.07, while Hammel and Klaczynski were sixth, respectively, in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. Hammel crossed the line in 2:10.49, while Klaczynski smashed her personal record with a time of 4:31.35. Anderson placed in a pair of events, taking second in the shot put with a toss of 14.85 meters (48-08.75) and sixth in the discus at 46.04 meters (151-00).
On the men's side, senior Lance Moe snared the only event championship, topping the men's high jump with a mark of 2.10 meters (6-10.75). Moe led a 1-2 finish in the event, edging out freshman teammate Geoff Davis on misses as Davis matched Moe at 2.10 meters.
Junior Jacob Palmer posted a personal record and fifth-place effort in the 800-meter run. Palmer bettered his previous outdoor mark by nearly a full second with a time of 1:50.68. Classmate Josh Hembrough turned in a second-place performance in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 14.20 seconds, and sophomore Mike Willey posted a pair of career bests, taking fourth in the 110-hurdles in 14.50 and sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in 53.98. Sophomore Ladd Mercer rounded out the list of solid track performances, finishing seventh in the men's 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:51.36.
Juniors Chris Kirtz and Bill Hardcastle and freshman Jakob Engel all turned in sixth-place finishes in the field as Kirtz leapt 7.24 meters (23-09.00) in the long jump, Hardcastle hurled the discus 51.15 meters (167-10) and Engel marked 17.17 meters (56-04.00) in the shot put.
The Boilermakers return to action next weekend, hosting the Mike Poehlein Invitational on Friday and Saturday.