May 13, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams got off to a solid start at the 2011 Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Friday, hosted by the University of Iowa at Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track, as the men scored 11 points, while the women put up 10 points. Seniors Stacey Wannemacher and Chris Thoman highlighted the day with a pair of second-place performances.
Wannemacher opened her final Big Ten Championship meet in grand fashion, throwing a huge personal record en route to the silver medal in the women's hammer throw. Her three preliminary throws were all impressive as she tossed a season-best 57.98 meters (190-02) on her first attempt, a career best 58.54 meters (192-00) on the second and a new career best 59.37 meters (194-09) on the third. She held the event lead with that mark until the first round of finals when Michigan State's Beth Rohl took the lead and held on for the conference crown. Wannemacher moved herself to third in Purdue's history in the event, surpassing Purdue greats Toyinda Smith and Serene Ross on the all-time list.
Junior teammate Elizabeth Stover added two more points in the women's pole vault, clearing 3.86 meters (12-08.00) to finish seventh. Stover opened at 3.66 meters (12-00.00), clearing on her second attempt, and then soared over 3.76 meters (12-04.00) on her first attempt. Her final clearance of the day put her in the scoring column, needing all three of her jumps to get over the bar.
The pole vaulters got the men off to a great start as Thoman took second place and sophomore Zack Saunders grabbed sixth to amass 11 team points. The pair braved some rough weather conditions for the vault, taking on a stiff crosswind and on-and-off rain showers to put points on the board, both logging marks of just 4.95 meters (16-02.75). Only one competitor got over 5.05 meters (16-06.75) as Ohio State's Cody Marshall won the conference title. Purdue freshman Mitch Erickson was just one place shy of scoring taking ninth with a matching mark of 4.95 meters, clearing on his third attempt.
Freshman Emily Becker sits in ninth place after the first day of the women's heptathlon, scoring 2,769 points through four events. She ran a career best of 14.64 in the 100-meter hurdles to start the day and followed with marks of 1.58 meters (5-02.25) in the high jump and 9.10 meters (29-10.25) in the shot put. She wrapped the day with a time of 27.19 in the 200-meter dash and is just 29 points out of eighth place and scoring position.
The Boilermakers have one more athlete set to compete tonight as freshman Stephen Schulz will compete in the men's 10,000-meter run at 9:15. He's one of 20 entries set to run this evening, vying for the eight placing points. Indiana leads the women's team standings with 24 points, while Minnesota has the men's team lead with 19.5 points.
Competition resumes tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. with the men's decathlon, while Becker resumes the Boilermakers' entries at 10:15 in the heptathlon long jump. Continue following the Boilermakers on Twitter and Facebook for live updates throughout the day.
TEAM SCORES
Men
1. Minnesota - 35.5
2. Wisconsin - 19
3. Ohio State - 13
4. Michigan State - 12
5. Purdue - 11
6. Michigan - 8.5
7. Indiana - 7
8. Illinois - 6
9. Iowa - 5
10. Penn State - 0
Women
1. Indiana - 31
2. Michigan State - 17
3. Ohio State - 11
4. Iowa - 10
4. Penn State - 10
4. Purdue - 10
7. Minnesota - 9
8. Illinois - 7
9. Michigan - 6
9. Wisconsin - 6