Feb. 5, 2011
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Freshman Dani Bunch and the men's distance medley relay squad paced the Purdue men's and women's track and field teams at the first day of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational on Friday night. Bunch put forth a second-place effort in the women's weight throw, while the Boilermaker men won the distance medley relay with the top time in the Big Ten Conference this season.
Bunch led an impressive effort in the women's weight throw as the Boilermakers placed three in the top eight, paced by her second-place toss of 19.44 meters (63-09.50). Senior Stacey Wannemacher followed Bunch in fifth place with a throw of 17.87 meters (58-07.50), while junior Emily Leckenby was eighth with a career-best mark of 16.81 meters (55-02.00).
Junior Ladd Mercer, sophomores Charles White and Mitch Keyser and freshman Andrew Kendrick teamed for an outstanding showing in the men's distance medley relay, crossing the line in 9:57.39 to edge out Ohio State for the conference's best mark this season.
Other top marks on the women's side came from junior Leah Eber and senior Emily Breslin, who notched respective third-place showings in the long jump and high jump. Eber fell just shy of her season-best, leaping 6.03 meters (19-09.50), while Breslin cleared 1.76 meters (5-09.25). Senior Bill Hardcastle turned in a top-eight showing on the men's side, placing seventh in the weight throw with a career-best toss of 18.02 meters (59-01.50).
Senior Shane Crawford and freshman Brandon Winters advanced to tomorrow's finals in the men's 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles, respectively, as Crawford had the fourth-fastest qualifying time in the dash at 6.81 seconds, while Winters notched the No. 3 mark in the hurdles at 8.16 seconds.
Action continues tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the women's unseeded 3,000-meter run, while the field events begin at 11 a.m. with the men's triple jump, women's pole vault and women's shot put.