April 27, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field squads will split up this weekend as several athletes head to Philadelphia for the prestigious Penn Relays, while another Boilermaker contingent will head down to Indianapolis for the Stan Lyons Invitational. The Boilermakers will have eight individuals set to compete in the Championship fields at the Penn Relays, looking to win at one of the nation's premier track and field events.
"Outside of the NCAA and Big Ten Championships, the Penn Relays offer our athletes one of the most outstanding, competitive environments in all of collegiate track and field," said Purdue head coach Jack Warner. "We consider it an honor to get to compete there and our athletes look to put up some big marks in a great field this week."
This week marks the 117th running of the Penn Relays, dating to the first edition held on April 21, 1895. It is the longest uninterrupted collegiate track meet in the country and this year's meet has more than 22,000 entries and the three-day attendance is expected to top 110,000 fans for the third consecutive year.
The Penn Relays split collegiate athletes into two fields for competition, placing the higher seeds in the Championship sections and others in the College sections. Of Purdue's 27 athletes heading to Philadelphia, eight Boilermaker individuals, made up of six women and two men, and two men's relays will compete in the Championship sections over the three day meet and look to take home Penn Relays titles. On the women's side senior Stacey Wannemacher looks to continue an outstanding final campaign, competing in a trio of Championship events. She'll pair with freshman Dani Bunch in the shot put and hammer throw, and throw alongside junior Terri Anderson in the discus. Wannemacher is currently tied for 19th in NCAA Division I in the shot put at 16.21 meters (53-02.25), while Anderson is ranked 20th in the nation in the discus at 52.92 meters (173-07).
Seniors Emily Breslin and NaTasha Blair and junior Leah Eber round out the Boilermaker women in Championship fields as Breslin is set for the high jump, Blair will compete in the 400-meter hurdles and Eber is in the long jump. Breslin is tied for the No. 18 mark in the country in the high jump with a mark of 1.79 meters (5-10.50), while Eber shares the 15th-best mark in the nation in the long jump, leaping 6.30 meters (20-08.00).
Purdue senior Bill Hardcastle and sophomore Geoff Davis are the two men's individual entries in the Championship fields in Philadelphia with Hardcastle throwing the shot put and Davis going after the high jump title. Hardcastle sits tied 17th in NCAA Division I with his season-best mark of 18.14 meters (59-06.25), while Davis is fresh off his season-best jump of 2.21 meters (7-03.00), and is tied for eighth in the nation. The Purdue men will field a pair of Championship relays, both to be led by senior captain Jacob Palmer. Palmer will run alongside juniors Ladd Mercer and Josh Lee and sophomore Scott Lasiter in the distance medley relay, while he, Lee and seniors Chris Kirtz and Shane Crawford will run the sprint medley relay. Palmer and Crawford are both coming off of career-best efforts at last weekend's Jesse Owens Track Classic at Ohio State.
For more information on the Penn Relays, including live video, heat sheets and results, visit their official website. The Boilermakers kick off competition Thursday at 10 a.m. as Blair is set for the women's 400-meter hurdles, while Wannemacher and Bunch will compete in the women's hammer throw.
The Boilermakers will send 32 individuals to compete at the Stan Lyons Invitational, hosted by Butler University at Michael A. Carroll Track & Field Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday. Highlighting the group are the Purdue men's and women's pole vaulters, who look to continue a solid run of competition after having a Boilermaker at the top of the podium in each of the last two meets.
Senior Chris Thoman has paced the Purdue men, clearing a career best 5.25 meters (17-02.75) at the Dave Rankin Invitational and winning the Jesse Owens Track Classic last weekend at Ohio State. His top mark is good for second in the Big Ten this season and is tied for 20th in NCAA Division I. The supporting cast of sophomores Zack Saunders and Kyle Campbell and freshman Mitch Erickson is more than capable of joining Thoman at that mark as all three are ranked in the top-10 in the conference, led by Saunders' top mark of 5.15 meters (16-10.75).
On the women's side, junior Elizabeth Stover has emerged victorious in each of the last two weekends, including an outdoor career-best mark of 3.95 meters (12-11.50) at the Dave Rankin Invitational. Her top mark is good for seventh in the Big Ten this season, just six centimeters out of sixth, and is just outside the all-time top-five outdoors at Purdue. Senior Kara Rogier and freshman Katie Vierk look to keep pace with Stover this weekend in Indianapolis.
Other anticipated entries for the Old Gold and Black include senior Caden Shields and freshmen Ciana Tabb and Normondo Harris. Shields is set to make his 2011 outdoor 5,000-meter run debut, competing alongside sophomore teammate Charles White and chasing his career-best mark of 14:27.04. Tabb is fresh off a career-best time of 14.19 in the women's 100-meter hurdles, climbing to 12th in the Big Ten standings last weekend against an elite conference field. Harris had a solid debut in Columbus last weekend, posting a mark of 14.35 meters (47-01.00) in the men's triple jump, already good for 13th in the Big Ten standings.
The Stan Lyons Invitational is scheduled to start Saturday at 11 a.m. with the women's hammer throw, while track events won't start until 4:30 p.m. with the women's 100-meter hurdles. For more information on the meet, visit Butler's track and field home page.