March 3, 2011
Alex Wilson Invitational Schedule
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams will take their last shot at NCAA Indoor Championship qualification this weekend, taking six athletes to the Notre Dame Alex Wilson Invitational at Loftus Sports Center. Seniors Shane Crawford and Bill Hardcastle will compete on the men's side, while classmates Stacey Wannemacher and Emily Breslin and junior Leah Eber and freshman Dani Bunch represent the Purdue women.
With the NCAA taking the top-16 competitors in the nation in every event, Bunch and Boilermaker sophomore Geoff Davis are already likely to qualify for the national indoor meet, set for March 11-12 at Texas A&M University, after outstanding performances at last weekend's Big Ten Indoor Championships. Bunch, the Big Ten Women's Indoor Freshman of the Year, threw the No. 9 mark in the country in the weight throw, hurling it 20.54 meters (67-04.75) to win her first career Big Ten Championship, while Davis cleared the No. 9 height in the nation in the men's high jump, soaring over a career-best 2.23 meters (7-03.75).
Bunch aims to become the second Boilermaker in as many years to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in two events as she attempts to earn a spot in the women's shot put field on Saturday. She currently has a season best of 16.07 meters (52-08.75) and will need to throw in the neighborhood of 16.50 meters (54-01.75) for a chance to compete in both the shot put and weight throw in College Station, Tex. Wannemacher aims for her second straight trip to nationals in the shot put as well, owning a season-best mark of 15.78 meters (51-09.25), but a career-best toss of 16.47 meters (54-00.50), which earned her All-America honors in 2010.
Eber is currently in a position to advance to nationals, sharing the No. 16 mark in the country with last weekend's Big Ten Championship mark of 6.27 meters (20-07.00), also good for the Purdue Indoor and Lambert Fieldhouse records. She'll look to improve that mark and ensure a trip to nationals Friday night, and should be safe with any mark upwards of 6.30 meters (20-08.00). Breslin is currently just short of the national field in the women's high jump, clearing a season best of 1.79 meters (5-10.50) twice this season, including a silver-medal showing at last weekend's conference meet. There are currently eight women tied for ninth in the country with a height of 1.82 meters (5-11.50), and Breslin looks to join those ranks on Friday.
On the men's side, Crawford looks to take the Purdue record in the 60-meter dash to new levels, while Hardcastle attempts to join the national field in the shot put. Crawford qualified for the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships and set the school record with a time of 6.66 seconds, finishing just shy of All-America honors at Arkansas. He'll have to improve the all-time Boilermaker mark to at least 6.65 seconds in order to take another shot at the national podium as five individuals are tied for 14th in the country with that mark.
Hardcastle currently sits 18th in the nation with his indoor career-best mark of 18.39 meters (60-04.00), and looks to take that throw upwards of 18.50 meters (60-08.50) to earn a bid for nationals. Hardcastle is a two-time NCAA Outdoor Championship qualifier and looks to add the indoor national meet to his resume on Saturday after the women's shot put is complete.
Notre Dame's meet is one of several last chance meets held around the country this weekend with a wealth of athletes chasing those final spots to the national championships. To follow all these meets check out the USTFCCCA's weekly results page.