April 2, 2011
Complete Results | Photo Gallery
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams combined to win 15 events at the seventh-annual Mike Poehlein Invitational, hosted by the Boilermakers at Rankin Track on Saturday. Ten of the event victories came on the women's side for the Old Gold and Black, while in six events the Boilermakers posted at least the top-two marks in the competition.
The women's shot put was the biggest sweep of the day for the Boilermakers as they claimed the top-six spots in the event, led by senior Stacey Wannemacher's first-place effort of 15.40 meters (50-06.25). Junior Terri Anderson followed at 14.78 meters (48-06.00), freshman Dani Bunch rounded out the top three at 14.49 meters (47-06.50), while freshman Liberty Slinden and sophomores Meghan Kessler and Bre Fife completed the run in fourth, fifth and sixth place. Wannemacher and Anderson flipped spots in the women's discus throw as Anderson was first at 49.34 meters (161-10) and Wannemacher was second at 47.14 meters (154-08). Sophomore Stephanie Bonk and junior Kara Conflenti turned in the third 1-2 finish on the women's side as Bonk posted a personal-record 10,000-meter run time of 36:35.83, while Conflenti finished in 37:31.59.
On the men's side, the Boilermakers claimed at least the top-two spots in the pole vault, 110-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, highlighted by a top-four effort in the pole vault. Senior Chris Thoman led the run with a first-place and season-best mark of 5.05 meters (16-06.75), while sophomores Zack Saunders and Kyle Campbell and freshman Mitch Erickson were second, third and fourth at 4.90 meters (16-00.75). Senior Josh Hembrough paced a 1-2-3 showing in the 110-meter hurdles, posting a season-best effort of 14.43, while junior Mike Willey was second in 14.55 and freshman Brandon Winters was third in 14.88. Seniors Chris Kirtz and Shane Crawford grabbed the top-two spots in the 200-meter dash, both notching personal records at 21.65 and 21.85.
Senior Bill Hardcastle had the only other individual win on the men's side for Purdue, winning his second straight shot put competition with a top throw of 16.91 meters (55-05.75).
The Boilermaker women had an impressive series of victories, paced by junior Leah Eber's career-best mark of 6.27 meters (20-07.00) in the long jump. Fellow junior Kyla Chapman had a solid career-debut in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking a time of 11:07.66, while senior NaTasha Blair ran near her personal record in the women's 400-meter hurdles at 1:01.80. Senior Emily Breslin bumped her season-best mark in the women's high jump to 1.75 meters (5-08.75) for the win, as did junior Elizabeth Stover in the women's pole vault at 3.70 meters (12-01.50).
The Boilermakers captured three of the four relay titles on the day as the Purdue men won the 4x100-meter relay in 41.15 seconds, while the women took the 4x100 in 47.28 and the 4x400-meter relay in 3:50.86.
The Old Gold and Black go back on the road next weekend, heading to Tempe, Ariz., for the Sun Angel Invitational at Arizona State University. Visit PurdueSports.com for a full preview of the Boilermakers' entries in next weekend's competition.