April 24, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up their outdoor home season on Saturday, hosting the Purdue Outdoor Open at Rankin Track. The Old Gold and Black had a solid day all around, turning in several personal records and some of the top marks at the conference and national level.
Purdue rookie Jakob Engel notched a career bets and hurled himself up the conference and national leaderboards in the men's shot put, winning Saturday's competition with a mark of 17.64 meters (51-10.50). The throw moves him past junior teammate Bill Hardcastle to fourth in the Big Ten and is tied for 28th in the NCAA with Indiana State's Brandon Pounds. Junior Chris Thoman also improved his season best and increased his national standing in the men's pole vault, clearing 5.10 meters (16-08.75) to win the event.
Other field event victories came from seniors Steve Carlson, Adetayo Adesanya and Brianna Neumann and junior Emily Breslin, who topped the men's javelin, men's triple jump, women's pole vault and women's high jump, respectively. Adesanya put up a mark of 14.57 meters (47-09.75) in his first effort of the season in the triple jump, while the other three fell shy of season-best marks as Carlson threw 56.32 meters (184-09), Neumann marked 4.07 meters (13-04.25), while Breslin cleared 1.76 meters (5-09.25).
The Boilermakers rolled out a series of victories on the track with wins from seniors Rachel Stalzer and NaTasha Blair, junior Josh Hembrough, sophomores Josh Lee and Gabe Pirtle and freshman Alice Feslier-Holmes. Stalzer and Blair both clocked personal records as Stalzer topped the women's 400-meter dash in 55.64, while Blair completed the women's 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.07 to earn the 10th-fastest time in the Big Ten this season. Hembrough registered his fastest wind-legal time of the season in the men's 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 14.04, while Lee finished the men's 400-meter dash in 48.92 and Pirtle raced his first 800-meter run in 1:54.66. Feslier-Holmes put in a career-best effort in the women's 800-meter run, finishing in 2:11.64.
The women's 4x400-meter relay team of sophomore Morgan Monroe and freshmen Kari Shoolbraid, Abbey Keane and Nakia Taylor earned a win as well, completing the race in 3:59.42.
The Boilermakers continue their trek towards the postseason next weekend, heading to Ohio State University for the Jesse Owens Track Classic. For more information visit PurdueSports.com this week for a preview and meet specifics.