May 2, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Dani Bunch won the women's hammer throw on the first day of the Dave Rankin Invitational. The rest of the events will take place on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. ET.
Bunch opened the event with a throw of 57.30m (188-0).That would be her best on the day, though she was close on a couple foot fouls late in the event. Bunch won the event by exactly 17 feet over the second place finisher, Carly Pendleton of Ohio State. Alisha Bahler took 13th with a throw of 42.56m (139-7).
On the men's side, Caleb Fricke advanced to the finals with a throw of 47.49m (155-9) on his second attempt. In the finals, he had his best throw on his final attempt with a mark of 48.23m (158-3), which helped him take seventh overall. Caleb Reiff took 10th with a mark of 42.53m (139-2), which came on his third attempt. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi was scheduled to compete, but pulled out to rest for Saturday's shot put.
Saturday's festivities will also include the Community Mile. The event is open to all age groups with three different races. The youth mile is scheduled to take place on the track at 11 a.m. ET, followed by the college mile at 11:20 a.m. The adult mile will conclude the community event and begins at 11:40 a.m. Adults are $5 while college and youth are $2. Entry includes a participation prize, breakfast, drinks and entry to the meet. For more information, contact Michaela Patt by email at mpatt@purdue.edu.
Saturday's event will have live scoring on PurdueSports.com. Up-to-the-minute updates will also be posted on the Purdue track and field Twitter feed @PurdueTrackXC and on the Game Day Central page on PurdueSports.com. A live, interactive blog will be available there for fans to interact, ask questions, and find out results from all of the day's action. A full recap and results will be posted to PurdueSports.com following Saturday's completion.