Nov. 13, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's cross country team concluded their 1999 season with a strong finish at the Great Lakes Regional track meet, held in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday. The Boilers finished in the upper echelon of teams, closing out the day at 13th place out of the 28 teams participating. Purdue accumulated 384 points on the day, tied with the University of Cincinnati. Taking home first place at the meet was 1999 Big Ten Champion, Wisconsin. The Badgers closed out the day with 51 points.
"I expected us to come out and compete strong today, and finish somewhere around the 10-15 spots," Purdue head coach Mike Poehlein says. "I was very pleased with the way Boesch and Downer stepped up. It was a real team effort today."
For the first time this season, an athlete other than junior-sensation Donnie Fellows led the way for Purdue. Classmate Chris Boesch surpassed Fellows to lead the team, crossing the line in 72nd place, with a time of 32:43.20. Closing in on Boesch was Tito Downer. The junior from Carmel, Ind., finished 73rd, with a time of 32:47.80. The reliable Fellows was hot on the trail of his teammates, finishing in 78th-place, with a time of 32:53.50. The very competitive classmates were separated by a total of two seconds in their average-mile times.
"I think that our older guys stepped up today and provided strength in numbers," Poehlein says. "I was very pleased with the way the juniors fought today."
Also providing needed strength were freshmen Logan Wealing, Toby Buechner and Robert Heise. The three newcomers finished 83rd, 88th and 97th, respectively. Wealing led the way for the young Boilermakers, crossing the finish line with a time of 32:58.80.
"An important aspect of this race for us was experience," Poehlein says. "I think that we saw a good deal of what we will be facing in the years ahead. With the talented newcomers combined with the experience of our veterans, as well as the addition of our guys that sat out this year, I think we could have the best squad I have ever coached here at Purdue in the year ahead."
The Old Gold and Black will now begin training for the indoor track and field season which will begin on Dec. 8, with the annual Gold and Black intrasquad scrimmage.