March 30, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After poor weather conditions cancelled the first day of action of the Purdue Invitational, the Boilermakers bounced back with solid performances across the board. The quartet of Nedzad Mulabegovic, Serene Ross, Prentice Stovall and T'Nita Waters led the way with wins in dual events.
Mulabegovic earned his second NCAA automatic mark in the shot put with a mark of 19.21m/63-0.25. He nearly made the provisional mark in the discus (55.00m/180-5.00) when he threw at a mark of 52.38m/171-10.00 to win the event.
Ross had similar success on the women's side of throwing action. The school's current record holder in the javelin threw an NCAA automatic mark of 51.98m/170-6.00 to win the event. Ross' mark dominated the field with her closest competitor tossing a mere 38.58m/126-7.00. Ross led the collegiate throwers in the hammer with a mark of 53.26m/174-9.00.
Stovall and Waters proved to be forces on the track. Stovall won the 100m dash in 10.64 and the 110m hurdles in 14.15. Waters won the 100m dash in 12.24 and the 200m dash in 25.45.
Both the men's and women's pole vaulters garnered first place finishes. Pooh Williams tied Western Michigan's Dustin Anderson with a mark of 5.05m/16-7.00. Simona Kovacic and Katie Rorem were knotted for first on the women's side with a mark of 3.50m/11-5.75. Meghan McKenzie rounded out the top-three with a third-place finish with a mark of 3.35m/10-11.75.
Kyle Orender won the men's 10,000m run with an impressive time of 31:17.42, minutes ahead of his nearest competitor who finished in 31:31.80. Doug Payne took the 400m hurdles in 54.78.
Ryan Fitzpatric won the high jump with a mark of 2.08m/6-9.75, and Daniel Harris got into the mix with a win in the triple jump with a mark of 15.07m/49-5.50.
The Boilermakers return to action next weekend when they head to the Collegiate Team Series Meet in Clemson, S.C.