June 11, 2009

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Purdue junior Adetayo Adesanya added another national finals qualifier to the Boilermakers' resume at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by the University of Arkansas at John McDonnell Field on Wednesday night. He's one of 14 finalists in the men's high jump, set to compete Friday at 7 p.m. (CST).

After waiting almost three hours in a rain delay, Adesanya hit the track for warm-ups and prepared for a soaked runway. Starting at 2.05 meters (6-06.75), he was just one of a handful of competitors in his flight to clear the bar on his first attempt, while five athletes bowed out of the contest at that height. With just 23 athletes left, the bar moved to 2.10 meters (6-10.75), which proved to be the final height of the evening.

The weather played a major part in the evening as several highly-ranked entries missed bar-after-bar, while Adesanya continued his solid performance. He soared over the bar on his first attempt as one of just two in his flight to remain clean and lock up a spot in Friday's finals. He becomes the first Purdue male to advance to an NCAA Outdoor Championship final since 2005, when John Paul Smolenski went on to earn All-America honors in the hammer throw.

Continue to follow the Boilermakers at the national championships at their twitter site. Junior Stacey Wannemacher looks to become the first outdoor All-American of the year tomorrow, competing in the women's shot put at 4:45 p.m. (CST).

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