March 16, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue track and field team began its 2002 outdoor season with impressive numbers at the Hurricane Invitational hosted by Miami.
"I am very pleased with our performance," head coach Lissa Olson said. "We use our first meet to guage our transition from the indoor season to the outdoor season. Our athletes did a great job and this is a great starting point to move forward."
Rookie Nedzad Mulabegovic got things started for the Boilermakers with an NCAA automatic mark in the shot put with a toss of a mark of 19.28m/63-3.25. Mulabegovic shattered Chris Spurrier's 2000-school record of 18.49m/60-8.00. Senior Nick Swathwood came in third in the event with a mark of 17.27m/56-8.00, while sophomore Scott Hecht placed fourth with a toss of 16.47m/54-00.50.
The success of the men's throwers continued with the hammer, javelin and discus events. Sophomore Keith McBride won the hammer with a mark of 57.30m/188-00.00. Hecht and rookie John Paul Smolenski got second and third respectively with marks of 55.80m/183-1.00 and 55.30m/181-5.00. Sophomore Brian Smith placed second in the javelin with a personal best mark of 62.23m/204-2.00. Hecht, Swathwood and McBride earned respective third, fifth and sixth place finishes in the discus.
All-American Serene Ross followed the lead of the Boilermaker men when it was her turn to throw. Ross won the javelin event with an NCAA provisional mark of 50.07m/164-3.00. She placed second in the hammer with a mark of 52.80m/173-3.00.
Purdue's throws events were alone in successful field performances. All-American Shaun Guice and senior Ryan Fitzpatric turned in first and second place performances in the high jump. Guice won the event with an NCAA provisional mark of 2.18m/7-1.75. Fitzpatric recorded a 2.13m/6-11.75, jumping two inches ahead of the third-place finisher. Sophomore Kristen Truscott tied for second in the women's high jump with a mark of 1.70m/5-7.00.
Senior Ebbie Metzinger came in second in the pole vault with an NCAA provisional mark of 3.95m/12-11.50. Rookies Jamar Green and Kern Woods placed third and fourth, respectively, in the long jump with marks of 6.82m/22-4.50 and 22-3.00.
In distance events, senior Barbara Winger led the way, picking up a first-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 10:57.01. Classmate Anne Stechshulte won the 5,000m with a time of 16:56.16. Rookie Lindsay Zinn was second in the event with a time of 17:00.11. On the men's side, senior Donnie Fellows also placed second in 14:32.13.
Senior Matt Hartman claimed a victory in the 800m run with a time of 1:51.99.
Sophomore Jacques Reeves set the standard for the sprinters. Reeves won the 200m dash with a personal best of 21.06. He placed second in the 100m dash with a time of 10.54.
Sophomore Kenneth Baxter placed fourth in the 100m with a time of 10.63. Junior Prentice Stovall was fifth in the 110m hurdles in 14.93. Both the men's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams finished third with respective times of 40.38 and 3:14.86.
The Boilermakers will take off next weekend, but return to action March 29-30 at the Purdue Invitational.