Jan. 20, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams combine efforts this Saturday in search of their 16th consecutive Gene Edmonds Cup title, hosting intrastate rival Indiana State University at Lambert Fieldhouse. Meet action is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with the field events, while the track events get rolling at 1 p.m.
Purdue and Indiana State have met annually at Lambert Fieldhouse every indoor season since 1996, awarding the coveted Gene Edmonds Cup to the winner of a combined meet between the men's and women's squads. The contest scores the top-two finishers for each team, awarding five points for first place, three for second, second for third and one for fourth. The meet will score just the top relay team for each side, awarding five points to first place and three points for second.
"This is a big meet on our schedule every year," said Purdue head coach Jack Warner. "It's another great opportunity for us to compete both on the individual and team level, and our athletes get fired up to try and keep the Cup here every season."
The gap has closed slowly between the two squads over recent years with Purdue winning 182-141 in 2010 and 179-139 in 2009, after a 200-123 blowout in 2008. This weekend's meet should have a wealth of competitive battles on both the men's and women's sides, with some having a big impact in the final scores. The men's side should feature tight contests in the 60-meter dash and the high jump, while the women's action will get hot in the 800-meter run, the pole vault and the throws areas.
Purdue senior Shane Crawford and sophomore Geoff Davis will match up against top-level competitors in their respective events as Crawford goes head-to-head with Indiana State senior Daryl Truitt in the 60-meter dash, while Davis jumps against Sycamore junior Major Clay in the high jump. Crawford opened his season with a time of 6.80 seconds last weekend against Indiana, while Truitt's top time of 6.87 seconds came at Eastern Illinois in December. Clay is currently tied for the nation's ninth-best height at 2.15 meters (7-00.50), while Davis cleared 2.11 meters (6-11.00) in his first meet of the season last weekend.
On the women's side, sophomore Alice Feslier Holmes, junior Elizabeth Stover, senior Stacey Wannemacher and freshman Dani Bunch will compete in the spotlight events as Feslier Holmes battles ISU sophomore Leeann Michl in the 800, Stover meets junior Nicole Hope in the pole vault and Wannemacher and Bunch compete against sophomore Felisha Johnson in the shot put and weight throw. Feslier Holmes owns the Boilermakers' top time at 800-meters this season, crossing the line in 2:17.06 last weekend, while Michl clocked a mark of 2:15.21 in Terre Haute on Saturday. Hope and Stover own matching marks of 3.80 meters (12-05.50) in the pole vault and are tied for the 41st-best height in NCAA Division I. Wannemacher and Bunch both lead Johnson in the shot put as Wannemacher has a top mark of 15.37 meters (50-05.25) and Bunch's best is 15.35 meters (50-04.50), while Johnson has thrown 15.12 meters (49-07.25), but Johnson leads both Boilermakers in the weight throw with the nation's No. 1 mark. Johnson's throw of 22.31 meters (73-02.50) came at Eastern Illinois back in December and has stood as the top throw in NCAA Division I ever since. Bunch launched a collegiate opener of 19.20 meters (63-00.00) two weeks ago, while Wannemacher opened her season at 17.72 meters (58-01.75) last weekend. In addition to Johnson, the Sycamores' boast the nation's No. 10 mark in the weight throw in senior Kelsey Hanley, who tossed 19.73 meters (64-08.75) at Eastern Illinois as well.
"This rivalry provides excellent head-to-head battles every season," said Warner. "Indiana State's athletes bring out the best in us and we hope to bring out the best in them. I know our coaching staff expects some big marks, and I'm sure theirs does as well."
Live results of Saturday's action will be available at PurdueSports.com courtesy of Delta Timing Group, while Saturday will be the live-action debut of the Purdue Track and Field Facebook and Twitter Pages. Follow the Boilermakers' accomplishments on both pages throughout the day Saturday, and through the rest of the season.