Lafayette Online » Student Athletes

Track: Neumann named Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of the Week

Carolyn Shelby — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:04:24 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue senior Brianna Neumann was named the Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of the Week on Monday in the wake of her standout performance at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational this past weekend. She won the women’s pole vault on Saturday, clearing a personal record for the third consecutive meet and topping several of the nation’s best vaulters.

Purdue University's Brianna Neumann currently ranks 12th in the country in the women's pole vault with her top mark of 4.21 meters (13-09.75).

Going head-to-head with national leader Alicia Rue of Minnesota, two-time NCAA All-American Vera Neuenswander of Indiana and 2009 NCAA Outdoor All-American Mary Saxer of Notre Dame, Neumann came out on top, clearing 4.21 meters (13-09.75) and setting a new event and Meyo Track record. Neuenswander led early, clearing 4.00 meters (13-01.50) on her first attempt, but was overtaken by Rue and Saxer at 4.15 meters (13-07.25) as they both sailed over on their first tries at the new height. Neumann took the lead for good at the final height, clearing on her third and final try and securing the No. 12 mark in the nation this season.

Her new personal record is good for the second-best indoor mark in Purdue’s history and remains just four centimeters (1.5″) shy of the Boilermakers’ indoor record and the automatic qualification standard for the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships. Former Purdue standout Ebbie Metzinger currently holds the school record, clearing 4.25 meters (13-11.25) on Feb. 2, 2002, at the Scarlet and Gray Invitational hosted by Ohio State University.

Neumann is the first female Boilermaker to earn Big Ten Athlete of the Week since Kara Patterson earned outdoor weekly honors on April 29, 2009, and Neumann claims the first indoor conference award since she shared recognition on Feb. 26, 2008.

Neumann and her Boilermaker teammates return to action this Friday and Saturday at the Grand Valley State Invitational.

Football: Boilermakers add four new players this semester

Carolyn Shelby — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:59:46 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Four student-athletes have enrolled at Purdue University this semester and will play football for the Boilermakers. The newest Boilermakers — cornerback Michael Eargle, tight end De’Ron Flood, tight end Gabe Holmes and linebacker Will Lucas — will take part in winter conditioning and spring practice.

Michael Eargle

The 6-foot, 165-pound Eargle, from Elizabeth, N.J., comes to the Boilermakers from Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania, the same junior college that sent wide receiver Keith Carlos to Purdue a year ago. He is a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. Eargle signed with Oklahoma State in February of 2009 but did not enroll. He played cornerback and quarterback for Lackawanna in 2007 and 2008, earning team Most Valuable Player honors his second season. In 2007, he completed 20 of 37 passes (54.1 percent) for 247 yards and two touchdowns. As a senior at Elizabethtown (N.J.) High School in 2006, Eargle played for the North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 state champions. His junior college coach was Mark Duda.

DeRon Flood

The 6-4, 230-pound Flood, from O’Fallon, Ill., had a team-leading 38 receptions for 406 yards (10.7 average) and one touchdown as a senior at O’Fallon High School. His most-productive game was his last – 10 catches for 117 yards vs. East St. Louis in the quarterfinals of the Illinois Class 7A Tournament on Nov. 14. As a part-time linebacker, Flood recorded 29 tackles (13 solo, 16 assists), including two sacks. He caught 21 passes for 377 yards (18.0 average) his junior year. Flood’s coach was Brandon Joggerst.

Gabe Holmes

The 6-4, 230-pound Holmes, from Miramar, Fla., signed with the Boilermakers last February but did not enroll. A year ago, he was a three-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com and ranked as the No. 27 tight end nationally by Scout.com. As a senior at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, Holmes caught 18 passes for 480 yards (26.7 average) and three touchdowns en route to being named second team All-Broward County. He missed three games with a thigh injury. Holmes had 11 catches for 80 yards (7.3 average) his junior year. Saint Thomas Aquinas was named 2008 national champions by ESPN.com and won back-to-back 5A state championships in 2007 and 2008. Holmes’ coach was George Smith, a Purdue alum, and he played AAU basketball with fellow Boilermaker wide receiver Gary Bush.

Will Lucas

The 6-1, 215-pound Lucas, from Lakeland, Fla., is a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. He was the Polk County Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Lakeland High School after amassing 164 tackles (126 solo, 38 assists), including 29 for loss and 7.5 sacks. His team advanced to the Florida Class 5A state semifinals and finished with a 13-1 record. Lucas had 21 tackles, including 18 solo stops, in the regional final game vs. Fleming Island on Dec. 4. As a junior, Lucas recorded 130 tackles, including 25 for loss and four sacks, and his team advanced to the state championship game before losing to Holmes’ Saint Thomas Aquinas squad. Lucas’ coach was Bill Castle.

A year ago, Purdue had three mid-year enrollees – Dwayne Beckford, Antwon Higgs and Al-Terek McBurse – and all three saw action for the Boilermakers during the 2009 season.

39 Boilermakers earn fall academic All-Big Ten honors

Carolyn Shelby — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:30:24 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Thirty-nine Purdue student-athletes spanning five sports were honored with Academic All-Big Ten accolades, the conference announced on Tuesday.

The soccer team led the way with 14 honorees, while the football team added 12 honorees. Eight women’s cross country runners, four men’s cross country runners and one volleyball player rounded out the group.

Sophomore linebacker Joe Holland and sophomore cross country runner Kara Conflenti were two of eight student-athletes singled out by the conference for boasting a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

Junior defensive end Ryan Kerrigan received second team Academic All-America honors and CoSIDA Academic All-District V accolades earlier in the year. The math major, who also was named first team All-Big Ten by the media for his work on the field, was the first Boilermaker football player to earn Academic All-America honors since punter Jared Armstrong was a second team selection in 2007.

Senior soccer players Jessica Okoroafo and Katie Seeger were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team presented by ESPN The Magazine. Okoroafo, a forward, was named to the first team, while Seeger, a midfielder, garnered second-team recognition. The pair were part of a senior class which compiled the most wins in program history, 58, while Okoroafo boasts school records for goals (35), game-winning goals (16), games played (91) and shots (250).

Arthurs, a middle blocker, was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District first team for volleyball. The Preseason All-Big Ten selection, posted an NCAA and Big Ten record 1.000 hitting percentage with 10 kills on 10 attempts in the season opener against Ball State. The speech/language and hearing sciences major is a two-time Academic All-District selection.

Academic All-District awards for cross country are not awarded until spring.

A total of 704 student-athletes were honored for their work in the classroom this fall. The student-athletes met the criteria of being at least a second-year student and carrying a minimum grade-point average of 3.0.

Purdue honorees

Football
Kyle Adams, Jr.
Adam Brockman, Jr.
Chris Carlino, So.
Dan Dierking, Jr.
Joey Elliott, Sr.
Joe Holland, Jr.
Andy Huffman, Sr.
Dennis Kelly, So.
Ryan Kerrigan, Jr.
Robert Maci, So.
Chris Summers, Sr.
Jason Werner, Sr.

Men’s Cross Country
Cale Allen, So.
Dominic DeSantis, So.
Ladd Mercer, So.
Caden Shields, Jr.

Soccer
Katie Becker, Jr.
Carianne Betts, Jr.
Kaitlyn Blacha, So.
Alex Jenkins, So.
Katie Leinert, So.
Lauren Montenegro, So.
Jessica Okoroafo, Sr.
Kellie Phillips, So.
Loredana Riverso, Sr.
Brookley Rogers, So.
Liz Secue, Jr.
Katie Seeger, Sr.
Alexis Tryba, So.
Lauren Varnau, So.

Volleyball
Kristen Arthurs, Jr.

Women’s Cross Country
Stephanie Bonk, So.
Kara Conflenti, So.
Katie Conrad, So.
Maggie Daly, Jr.
Danielle Eagan, Sr.
Sarah Klaczynski, Sr.
Katie Morrical, Sr.
Kristin Phillips, Sr.

Twenty-seven Purdue athletes named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars

Carolyn Shelby — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:05:35 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Twenty-seven Purdue student-athletes were honored as Distinguished Scholar Award recipients by the Big Ten Conference on Wednesday.

The award was established by the Big Ten Faculty Representatives in February in order to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. In order to be eligible for the Distinguished Scholar Award, recipients must be in at least their second academic year at the institution and have a minimum GPA of 3.7 for the previous academic year, excluding summer school.

Of Purdue’s 27 recipients, six posted a perfect 4.0 GPA this year. Those individuals are bolded on the complete list below.

The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for their academic career. A total of 150 Boilermaker student athletes garnered Academic All-Big Ten honors during the 2008-09 school year. Purdue’s Distingushed Scholar Award recipients follow.

Katie Beck, Women’s Swimming & Diving
David Colturi, Men’s Swimming & Diving
Scott Dean, Men’s Swimming & Diving
Matthew DeSilva, Men’s Track & Field
Danielle Eagan, Women’s Cross Country
Laura Garriga, Women’s Basketball
Nan Hammel, Women’s Track & Field
Joe Holland, Football
Liane Horiuchi, Softball
Christine Inman, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Alex Jaffee, Baseball
Morgan Lebsack, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Ashlee Lengacher, Women’s Track & Field
Luke Manuel, Wrestling
Danita Merlau, Women’s Volleyball
Lauren Mioton, Women’s Basketball
Katie Morrical, Women’s Track & Field
Tom Oliver, Men’s Golf
Mallory Peck, Women’s Track & Field
Loredana Riverso, Soccer
Kaitlin Seeger, Soccer
Connor Sestak, Baseball
Allie Smith, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Eric Sparks, Men’s Track & Field
Rachel Stalzer, Women’s Track & Field
Matt Stewart, Men’s Swimming & Diving
Mark Wohlford, Men’s Basketball

Lafayette Online » Student Athletes

Track: Neumann named Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of the Week

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