TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? The Indiana State men's and women's track and field teams have tried hard to take possession of the Gene Edmonds Cup in the past, but their previous 12 tries have come up just a bit short. On Saturday, they will once again get their chance to win the cup from their in-state rival Purdue, when they head to West Lafayette, Ind., to win the 13th annual Gene Edmonds Cup.
The competition for the cup is a team (both men and women) scored meet between the Sycamores and Boilermakers. However, the meet will also be scored as a triangular, as Southeast Missouri State will also take place in the meet. Purdue has won all 12 of the previous meets, but the gap between the two schools has dwindled over the past couple of years, with Purdue winning last year's competition by just 34 points.
Men's head coach John McNichols knows that his team has not been successful in the past, but he's optimistic about his team's chances on Saturday.
“These meets have been extremely competitive over the last couple of years and Purdue always fields a very strong, competitive squad,” said McNichols. “We're heading into this meet a little short handed after the flu swept through the team earlier this week, but I'm hopeful we'll get some people back and we can compete well. So far, our strength has been on the track and Purdue's has been in the field, so that could make for some very interesting scoring.”
The men's team will lean on strong performances on the track, including junior Jeramie Gray who ran to a first-place finish in the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.74 last weekend at the EIU Mega Meet and posted a provisional qualifying mark in the event for the NCAA Indoor National Championships. That earned Gray State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Track Athlete of the Week honors.
On the women's side, sophomore Erica Moore will be looked upon to continue her early season dominance for the Sycamores. Moore ran a personal-best time of 8.77 to finish first in the 60 meter hurdles first in the 400 meter run with a time of 54.98 at the EIU Mega Meet last weekend, which earned her State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women's Track Athlete of the Week for the second-straight week. ISU will also lean on sophomore Kylie Hutson, who holds the No. 9 pole vault height in the country at 13'00.25 heading into the meet.
Women's head coach John Gartland hopes that the program will finally be enough to overtake the Boilermakers.
“This meet has really eluded us as a program over the last 12 years, but I'm confident that this year's meet will be very competitive,” said Gartland. “Purdue is going to put a very strong and improved team out there on Saturday, and our squad will have to continue to run as well as we have early in the season.”
The cup is named after the long-time meet official who continues to serve at the meets and has connections to both schools. Edmonds and his wife, Rose, are both Indiana State alumni, where he played varsity basketball under legendary head coach John Wooden. Edmonds was also a member of the Purdue coaching staff, heading the throws area for the Boilermakers in the 1990's.
Saturday's action is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. (EST) with the men's weight throw, women's long jump and women's pole vault. Live results will be available at purduesports.com and deltatiming.com.
