May 19, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's track and field teams qualified 20 individuals and a relay for the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championship East Preliminary Rounds as announced by the NCAA and the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Thursday. The meet will be hosted by Big Ten archrival Indiana University at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex next Thursday through Saturday, May 26-28, in Bloomington, Ind.
The NCAA Outdoor Championship Preliminary Round format advances the top-48 declared individuals in each event and the top-24 declared relays in each region. The top-12 finishers in each event at the preliminary rounds then qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, set for June 8-11 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Thirteen of the Boilermakers' 20 individuals come on the men's side, paced by senior double qualifier Bill Hardcastle. Advancing with the No. 9 mark in the region in the shot put (18.14m/59-06.25) and the No. 32 throw in the discus (52.96m/173-09), Hardcastle will attempt to become the Purdue men's first double-qualifier for the NCAA Championships since Kenneth Baxter went to nationals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in 2005. Sophomore Jakob Engel will join Hardcastle in the shot put field, advancing with the No. 21 mark at 17.65 meters (57-11.00).
Like Hardcastle, fellow seniors Shane Crawford and Chris Thoman and sophomore Geoff Davis head to Bloomington ranked in the top-12 of their respective events. Crawford is tied for the No. 10 mark in the East in the 100-meter dash, shattering the Purdue record and winning the Big Ten Championship with a time of 10.18 last weekend at Iowa. Thoman is one of four Purdue men to advance to prelims in the pole vault, leading the group with a career-best mark of 5.25 meters (17-02.75), good for 10th in the region. Sophomores Zack Saunders and Kyle Campbell and freshman Mitch Erickson complete the group as Saunders is tied for 19th at 5.15 meters (16-10.75), while Campbell and Erickson are tied for 31st at 5.06 meters (16-07.25). Davis owns the No. 9 mark in the east in the high jump, clearing 2.21 meters (7-03.00) this season and winning a Big Ten Championship last weekend with a mark of 2.16 meters (7-01.00).
The men's field is completed by seniors Jacob Palmer, Josh Hembrough and Chris Kirtz, and freshmen Brandon Winters and Seth Virgil. Palmer qualified in the 800-meter run for the second straight season, notching the No. 28 mark at 1:49.67, while Hembrough and Winters advance in the 110-meter hurdles. Hembrough garnered his fourth trip to the outdoor preliminary (regional) meet with the No. 33 mark at 14.15 seconds, while Winters is making his first trip, clocking the No. 38 mark at 14.21 seconds. Kirtz and Virgil are also making their first career trip to the preliminary meet, posting the No. 28 and No. 48 marks in the East in the long jump, respectively, at 7.52 meters (24-08.25) and 7.39 meters (24-03.00).
The Purdue women's field is comprised of seven field event qualifiers and the Boilermakers' first relay qualifier in the NCAA Preliminary Round format. Senior Stacey Wannemacher and freshman Dani Bunch are both double qualifiers for the Old Gold and Black, earning nods in the shot put and hammer throw, while senior Emily Breslin has the top mark of any Purdue woman, qualifying for the high jump for the third straight season.
Wannemacher and Bunch are both set to compete in the shot put and hammer throw, looking to become the Boilermakers' first NCAA outdoor double qualifier since Astin Steward in 2007, when she went to Sacramento, Calif., in the discus and hammer throw. Wannemacher has the 14th-best shot put mark in the East at 16.21 meters (53-02.25) and the No. 12 hammer throw at 59.37 meters (194-09), while Bunch is ranked 29th in the shot put at 15.37 meters (50-05.25) and 36th in the hammer at 56.01 meters (183-09). Freshman Liberty Slinden joins her teammates in the shot put, grabbing the No. 47 spot with her top mark of 14.59 meters (47-10.50).
Breslin is fresh off her career-best performance in the high jump, finishing second at the Big Ten Championships with a height of 1.82 meters (5-11.50). The jump is tied for fourth all-time at Purdue and is tied for the fifth-best height in the East this season. Breslin advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2010, and aims for a return trip in her final campaign. Junior Leah Eber is the second-highest ranked individual for the Boilermakers, owning the No. 10 long jump mark in the East at 6.30 meters (20-08.00). She swept the long jump titles at the Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships this season and is looking for her first bid to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Juniors Terri Anderson and Elizabeth Stover round out of the list of preliminary qualifiers as Anderson advances in the discus, while Stover grabbed a spot in the pole vault. Anderson owns the No. 13 spot in the discus with a season best of 52.92 meters (173-07), while Stover is tied for the No. 33 spot in the pole vault, clearing a career best 3.95 meters (12-11.50).
The Boilermakers qualified their first-ever relay in the NCAA Preliminary Round format this season as seniors NaTasha Blair and Janan Graham and freshmen Ebony Woodard and Taylor Morrison teamed to record the No. 24 time in the East Region in the 4x400-meter relay. They posted a time of 3:39.79 in the College Division finals at The Penn Relays this season, in addition to a seventh-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
For a full list of the qualifiers in both the East and West Regions, click here.