Feb. 24, 2011
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's track and field team heads to Champaign, Ill., this Saturday and Sunday, set to compete in the 2011 Big Ten Indoor Championships. The Fighting Illini will host this weekend's competition at the University of Illinois Armory and action will kick off Saturday at 10 a.m. with the heptathlon.
The Boilermakers have been up and down at the indoor conference meet over the past few years, finishing 10th in 2006 and 2009, but taking sixth in 2007, fourth in 2010 and scoring one of just three second-place showings in 2008, at Wisconsin. Last year's fourth-place effort came on 67 team points as senior Shane Crawford led the way with a Big Ten Championship in the 60-meter dash. Crawford became just the second Boilermaker in school history to earn a men's 60-meter dash title, setting the Purdue record with a time of 6.66 seconds.
This year's group will rely on its senior leadership for a bulk of its scoring, including Crawford and fellow upperclassmen Josh Hembrough, Chris Kirtz, Jacob Palmer, Chris Thoman and Bill Hardcastle. Crawford appears to be on a similar track as last season, heading into the conference championships with a top time of 6.75 seconds, good for fourth in the conference. In 2010, Crawford went to Minneapolis for the Big Ten Indoor meet with a season best of 6.72 seconds, only to turn in the top preliminary time of 6.67, and lower it by 0.01 in the finals and qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Hembrough is the only other former Big Ten Indoor Champion on the Boilermaker roster, taking the 60-meter hurdles crown in 2008 en route to Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year honors. He has a career best time of 7.77 seconds, which is third all-time at Purdue and would be third in the Big Ten standings this season, while Hembrough's top time of 2011 is 8.15 seconds, tied for 14th this year. Hembrough should be pushed in the hurdles by junior teammate Mike Willey and Boilermaker rookie Brandon Winters.
Like Crawford, Kirtz looks to follow up on an impressive showing from 2010, when he earned the silver medal in the long jump at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. While he has taken his game to new levels in 2011, posting a career-best mark of 7.45 meters (24-05.50) at the Grand Valley State Big Meet, so has the rest of the conference as Ohio State sophomore Mike Hartfield owns the Big Ten lead with a mark of 7.79 meters (25-06.75). Kirtz's mark is fourth in the Big Ten this season as he looks to ascend the conference podium for the second straight season.
Palmer has made large strides on the track in his final indoor campaign, recording career bests in both the 600- and 800-meter runs. His mark of 1:19.72 in the 600 is tied for seventh in the conference standings, while his 800-meter time of 1:51.35 is tied for 17th in the Big Ten, but is less than a second out of the top-eight. Sophomore Mitch Keyser has been with Palmer stride-for-stride this season, also notching career bests in both races and posting the Big Ten's No. 11 mark in the 600 at 1:20.02 at last weekend's Boilermaker Invitational.
The Boilermakers have had several placewinners in the pole vault in recent history, including Thoman as he looks to continue the tradition on Saturday. Thoman owns a season-best mark of 5.05 meters (16-06.75), good for ninth in the conference, but is coming off a near-clearance at 5.25 meters (17-02.75) last weekend. He'll see support in the pole vault from sophomore teammates Kyle Campbell and Zack Saunders, who both own multiple clearances at or near the five-meter mark this season and look to pick up a few extra points for the Boilermakers.
Hardcastle has had a stellar final indoor campaign, achieving career-best marks in the shot put and weight throw and winning five of his seven outings in the shot put while finishing no lower than second. His indoor personal record in the shot put came last weekend, hurling 18.39 meters (60-04.00) to maintain the No. 5 mark in the Big Ten this season and the No. 18 mark in NCAA Division I. He'll likely compete in the weight throw as well this weekend, facing an unbelievably tough Big Ten field that features nine of the top-25 athletes in the nation, all of which have thrown over 20 meters (65-07.50).
On top of the Boilermakers' senior leadership, they look for a big boost from sophomore standout Geoff Davis. A 2010 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championship qualifier and the 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Championship runner-up, Davis heads into the weekend with one of the best high jump marks in the country at 2.21 meters (7-03.00). He's second in the conference and tied for 10th in the nation with his indoor personal record mark, improving the No. 4 mark in Purdue history at the Gene Edmonds Cup this year.
The Big Ten has as much depth as ever in 2011, with six teams in the USTFCCCA Top-25, including third-ranked Indiana and 20th-ranked defending conference champion Minnesota. Penn State sits 10th in the nation, while No. 15 Iowa, No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 22 Ohio State round out the list of ranked Big Ten squads. In addition, both the Big Ten Track & Field Athletes of the Year return in Ohio State junior Thomas Murdaugh (track) and Indiana junior Derek Drouin (field).
For more information on the championships, visit Illinois' host site, where you'll find information on tickets, schedules and live results. The Boilermakers will have a recap of each day's action at the conclusion of competition at PurdueSports.com.