April 22, 2011
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Jesse Owens Track Classic Heat Sheets
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams resume their outdoor season this weekend, heading to Big Ten rival Ohio State University for the Jesse Owens Track Classic on Saturday and Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Boilermakers will field 90 entires in the meet, with 47 on the women's side and 43 on the men's side.
This weekend's meet marks the 75th anniversary of Owens' performance at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. The Buckeyes will host a series of festivities for the event, including unveiling a statue of Owens and a celebration dinner in conjunction with the Ohio State Spring Football Game. The meet begins Saturday night with the men's and women's discus and javelin as well as the 5,000-meter runs, the 1,500-meter runs and the 3,000-meter steeplechases. Action resumes Sunday morning at 10:30 with the pole vault and hammer throw and runs through 5:20 p.m. with the men's 4x400-meter relays.
"The Jesse Owens Track Classic is a great meet every year and I feel we're fortunate to get invited by Ohio State," said Purdue head coach and former Buckeye assistant coach Jack Warner. "The meet always attracts several of the top teams from the Midwest and a variety of pro athletes, meaning big marks and fast times. Some of our top efforts over the past three years have come from this meet."
This year's meet will be no exception in bringing in top teams as Big Ten squads from Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan will be in Columbus, in addition to West Virginia, Ohio, Kent State, Akron and Miami (Ohio). While the level of talent will be deep across the board, the Boilermakers look to big opportunities in the men's 800-meter run, the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, the men's shot put and the women's discus.
Boilermaker senior Jacob Palmer will have a fast field to run with in the men's 800, including a pair of post-collegiates and the defending Big Ten Champion. Ricardo Bell and James O'Brien of the Indiana Invaders professional team both have seed times under 1:48.00, while Penn State's Casimir Loxsom will make his season debut in the 800 after taking the conference championship and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2010. More speed will come from Akron's Willie Brown, who has the nation's No. 30 time at 1:49.65, and Nittany Lion seniors Lionel Williams and Samuel Borchers. Palmer has a season-best time of 1:51.64 from the Sun Angel Track Classic, and a career best of 1:49.69 from last season's Big Ten Championships.
Junior Kyla Chapman is set to make just her second career appearance in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase this weekend and will run against several conference opponents as she looks to crack the 11-minute mark. Penn State's Natalie Bower has the 16th-fastest time in the nation going into the weekend at 10:21.87, while Nittany Lion teammates Lindsey Graybill and Emily Giannotti have both been under 11 minutes. Ohio State's Molly Jacobson and Toledo's Emma Kertesz look to be in the mix as well with a pair of speedy seed times. Chapman ran the steeplechase for the first time at the Mike Poehlein Invitational this season, winning the race with a mark of 11:07.66.
The men's shot put looks to be a Big Ten affair with at least 10 conference entries in the field, including four of the top-20 marks in the nation this season. Purdue senior Bill Hardcastle is among these four, holding the No. 16 mark at 18.14 meters (59-06.25), and looking to win his second competition of the season. The Penn State duo of Joe Kovacs and Blake Eaton sit fifth and 10th in the country, respectively, with marks of 18.91 meters (62-00.50) and 18.44 meters (60-06.00), while Ohio State's Matt DeChant is 19th in NCAA Division I at 18.09 meters (59-05.25). Boilermaker sophomore Jakob Engel is fresh off a career-best throw of 17.21 meters (56-05.75) and looks to continue improving, and Ohio State's Tyler Branch rounds of the list of top marks at 16.97 meters (55-08.25).
Purdue junior Terri Anderson took the week off last weekend to let a minor injury heal up and aims to come back with full force in the women's discus throw on Saturday. She currently owns the 19th-best throw in NCAA Division I at 52.92 meters (173-07), and is trying to chase down the Boilermaker record of 53.90 meters (175-10) set by Astin Steward in 2007. Anderson has the advantage of competing alongside several standouts, including Michigan's Erin and Emily Pendleton and former Kent State thrower Brittani Borrero. Erin Pendleton currently owns the 20th-best mark in the country at 51.89 meters (170-03), but won the 2010 Big Ten Championships with a toss of 56.31 meters (184-09).
Live results for Saturday and Sunday's action can be found at www.finishtiming.com.