By Tom Schott
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Men's and women's track & field will square off against intrastate rival Indiana tomorrow in Bloomington. Two points will be on the line in the Governor's Cup all-sports competition.
Junior Chukwuebuka Enekwechi was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week for the second time this season after breaking his own Lambert Fieldhouse record in the weight throw with the current world-leading mark of 23.32 meters (76-6.25) at last Saturday's Gene Edmonds Invitational. Enekwechi also won the shot put with an 18.22-meter heave (59-9.5). The Field Athlete of the Week honor was the sixth of Enekwechi's career, the most in school history.
Diving Duet
Junior Mary Beth Dunnichay and freshman Steele Johnson were named Big Ten Divers of the Week after sweeping the springboard events in last week's wins over Michigan State.
Dunnichay won the 1-meter with a score of 275.78 and the 3-meter at 322.88, while Johnson had a season-best 1-meter score of 395.40 and took the 3-meter at 393.38. Johnson, who also was honored as Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season, already ranks among the top three in all three diving events in Purdue history.
Johnson tops the men's team with nine individual event victories this season, while Dunnichay is second among the women with seven.
The swimmers and divers are back in action Jan. 24 for Senior Day home duals against Indiana.
Weekend Wrestling
The wrestling team (7-4, 0-2 B1G) hosts No. 19 Northwestern (8-3, 0-2) at 7 o'clock tonight at Holloway Gymnasium before traveling to No. 5 Penn State (6-1, 2-1) for a Sunday afternoon affair. Tonight's dual is Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night, with $1 admission for all Purdue faculty and staff, and also the Boilermakers' alumni reunion.
In last Sunday's 22-13 loss at No. 20 Wisconsin, the Welch trio of Luke (125), Doug (157) and Chad (174) each were victorious for the Boilermakers. Two days earlier, Doug upset second-ranked James Green of Nebraska 5-4.
Football All-Star Games Update
Defensive end Ryan Russell plays in the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla., at 4 p.m. tomorrow. The game will be televised by the NFL Network.
Tight end Gabe Holmes and long snapper Jesse Schmitt have been selected for the College Gridiron Showcase in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 31.
In last Saturday's Medal of Honor Bowl in Charleston, S.C., running back Akeem Hunt rushed for 30 yards on seven carries.
Egel Selected as Big Ten Representative in NCAA Autonomy Process
Senior golfer Ben-Marvin Egel has been selected as one of three student-athlete representatives from the Big Ten Conference as part of the NCAA's new Division I autonomy governance structure.
Joining Egel is Minnesota graduate and former football student-athlete Chris Hawthorne and Northwestern junior women's soccer student-athlete Nandi Mehta. The three will serve as representatives of the Big Ten's nearly 9,500 student-athletes. Hawthorne is a former member of the Big Ten Commission on Student-Athlete Issues and is currently the Big Ten representative for the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, while Egel and Mehta are current members of the Big Ten Commission on Student-Athlete Issues.
Egel, Hawthorne and Mehta will have voting power on proposed governance rule changes and will represent the conference's student-athletes as part of the NCAA's mission to "engage and empower student-athletes by giving them both a voice and vote within a transparent decision-making process."
JPC Recruiting Round-Up Set for Feb. 4
Head football coach Darrell Hazell and his staff will host a John Purdue Club Recruiting Round-Up to talk about the 2015 class on National Signing Day on Feb. 4. The event is free for John Purdue Club members and will begin at 4:45 p.m. in Holloway Gymnasium. Non-JPC members may pay $15 if they would like to attend.
For more information, click here.
Etcetera
Men's basketball (10-7, 2-2) plays the first of two straight road games tomorrow at Penn State (12-5, 0-4). The Boilermakers then visit Illinois (12-6, 2-3) on Wednesday before returning home to face Iowa (12-5, 3-1) on Jan. 24 ... Women's basketball (9-8, 2-4) travels to Nebraska (13-3, 3-2) on Monday ... Women's tennis begins its spring season by hosting the three-day Purdue Invite today through Sunday on the Basham Courts at the Schwartz Tennis Center. Joining the No. 42 Boilermakers will be No. 46 DePaul, No. 65 Denver and Drake. All three days of competition will begin at 9 a.m. ... No. 48 men's tennis welcomes Eastern Illinois and IUPUI at noon and 5 p.m. Monday to get the spring portion of its schedule under way ... Six former Purdue football players are on National Football League teams that have advanced to the conference finals, meaning a Boilermaker will be on the Super Bowl-winning team for the 13th time in the last 16 years. In the NFC, Mike Neal (2006-09) and Bruce Gaston (2010-13) are members of the Green Bay Packers, while Cliff Avril (2004-07) plays for the Seattle Seahawks. In the AFC, the Indianapolis Colts feature Shaun Phillips (2000-03), while the New England Patriots' roster includes Rob Ninkovich (2004-05) plus Greg Orton (2005-08) on injured reserve ... Purdue's Kampen Course has been selected as a regional host for the 2017 NCAA Men's Golf Championship. It will mark the first NCAA men's golf event at the course since the 2008 NCAA Championship.