May 15, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams continued their solid efforts at the 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, hosted by Indiana University at Billy Hayes Track on Saturday, racking up several individual scoring performances, including a Big Ten title. After two days of competition, the Purdue men are tied for third place with 35 points, while the women sit in seventh place with 22 points.
Junior Bill Hardcastle highlighted day two for the Old Gold and Black, winning his third-career Big Ten Championship with a first-place effort in the men's discus. He left little doubt through the event, logging his winning throw of 54.86 meters (180-00) on his second toss, and marking more than anyone else in the field on three of his six attempts. His win is the 96th individual Big Ten Championship in Purdue history and the ninth championship in the discus by a Boilermaker.
The Old Gold and Black received medalist performances in four other events as freshman Geoff Davis, sophomores Leah Eber and Terri Anderson and senior Sarah Klaczynski all climbed the podium. Davis led a 12-point team effort for the Purdue men in the high jump, clearing 2.12 meters (6-11.50) for second place overall and his first career Big Ten medal. Senior teammate Lance Moe followed Davis in the event in fifth place, posting a height of 2.09 meters (6-10.25).
Eber earned her second career Big Ten Championship medal on Saturday, and her first at the outdoor meet, grabbing silver in the women's long jump. Battling rain and having the competition interrupted by lightning, Eber rebounded from an average preliminary showing to pop a jump of 6.16 meters (20-02.50) in the finals and take second place and eight points.
Anderson captured the bronze medal in the women's shot put at her second straight Big Ten Outdoor Championship meet, also throwing a career-best mark at the conference championships for the second consecutive season. She advanced to the finals and threw just shy of her personal record with a toss of 15.51 meters (50-10.75) in the preliminaries, and popped the mark up to 15.66 meters (51-04.50) in the finals. Freshmen teammates Meghan Kessler and Breanne Fife also turned in personal records on the day as Kessler qualified for the finals and just missed scoring as she was ninth with a throw of 14.11 meters (46-03.50).
Continuing her incredible improvement over her final season in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Klaczynski earned the bronze medal and bettered her career best in the race for the fourth time this season. Her time of 10:23.28 is over seven seconds better than her previous best and is the third-fastest mark in school history, closing to within 11 seconds of the Boilermakers' school record.
Sophomore Elaine Gilbert added a pair of points on the women's side with a seventh-place showing in the javelin. Her mark of 36.00 meters (118-01) is near her best of the season and is her first Big Ten placewinning performances.
The Boilermaker men had a pair of individuals advance to tomorrow's finals in the track events as juniors Josh Hembrough and Jacob Palmer earned bids in the 110-meter hurdles and 800-meter run, respectively. Hembrough had the second-fastest qualifying times in the hurdles, crossing the line in 14.20, while Palmer earned the ninth and final qualifying spot in the 800 with a personal-record mark of 1:50.13.
On the women's side, senior Nan Hammel and freshman Alice Feslier Holmes advanced to the event finals in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs, both clocking career-best times. Hammel turned in the fifth-fastest qualifier on the day, finishing second in her heat with a time of 2:08.64, while Feslier Holmes crushed her personal record by more than three seconds to earn the No. 11 qualifier with a time of 4:26.87.
The last day of championship competition starts tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the women's triple jump and discus, while the track events are scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. Continue following the Boilermakers at the official Purdue Twitter account.