April 6, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue track and field team rallied a total team effort on Saturday to win the Clemson Invitational on both the men's and women's sides of action.
"I was very pleased with the effort these athletes put forth today," head coach Lissa Olson said. "We knew that Clemson was going to be the team to beat, and the fact that we came out and defeated them on their home track after a 12 hour bus ride here says a lot about this team. Our upcoming meets will focus on individuals, and this meet took a total team effort. Today's win will definitely pay off down the road."
The Boilermaker men earned 195 points to hold off the host Tigers (190.50 points), and conference-foe Illinois (121 points). Syracuse (47 points) and Virginia Tech (27.50 points) rounded the field in respective fourth and fifth place finishes. On the women's side, the Old Gold and Black compiled 178 points to win. Clemson (172.50 points), Syracuse (90 points), Miami (Ohio) (72 points) and Virginia Tech (71.50 points) held the second through fifth place spots.
Jacques Reeves began the tangent of outstanding Boilermaker performances by running an NCAA provisional time of 20.79 in the 200m dash. Nedzad Mulabegovic and Nick Swathwood continued where Reeves left off, picking up respective NCAA provisional marks of 18.96m/62-2.50 and 18.19m/59-8.25 in the shot put.
Sprinters on both the men's and women's teams had success in their respective fields. Kenneth Baxter and Prentice Stovall went third and fourth in the 100m dash with times of 10.62 and 10.68. T'Nita Waters and Shanna Carter placed fourth and fifth in the 100m dash with respective times of 12.07 and 12.28. Carter placed fourth in the 200m in 25.03, while rookie Ragina Harvey ran the 400m in 58.32 for a fifth-place finish.
The Boilermakers continued their trend of dominating middle distance and distance action. Kim Jordan won the 800m run in 2:14.10. Jordan's performance led the way for Kelly Van Abeele's second-place finish (2:15.40), Meghan McNeily's third-place finish (2:15.40) and Bridgette O'Rourke's sixth-place finish (2:18.48). Matt Hartman placed third on the men's side with a time of 1:52.71. Julie Sennott and Caitlin Baird earned valuable points in the 1,500m run with fourth and fifth place finishes, while Robert Heise finished fifth in his field.
Lindsay Zinn and Ann Stechshulte went one and two in the 5,000m run with times of 17:3.92 and 17:03.94. Donnie Fellows won the men's 5,000m in 14:29.76. Kyle Orender and Toby Buechner earned points with third and sixth place finishes. Barbara Wenger won the 3,000m steeplechase in 11:01.38. Valerie Pattengale and Christian Bahler went fourth and fifth in the event. Geoff Fleming won the men's steeple, while Mike Ciccarelli finished the event in third place.
Purdue also rallied for points in the hurdle and relay events. The women's 4x100m relay team of Harvey, Waters, Shannon Kelley and Carter ran a season best time of 47.20. Doug Payne and Tom Aliff went three and four in the 400m hurdles, while Kelley placed fourth in the event on the women's side. Kelley finished third in the 100m hurdles in 14.60, and Stovall placed fifth in the 110m hurdles in 14.20.
The field events got underway with the pole vault. Ebbie Metzinger lead the way with a first place finish with a mark of 3.90m/12-9.50. Simona Kovacic, Katie Rorem and Meghan McKenzie finished third, fourth and fifth, while Pooh Williams finished third on the men's side.
Jamar Green won the long jump with a leap of 7.19m/23-7.25, while Jan Eichenauer and Janelle Johnson placed third and fourth on the women's side. Daniel Harris placed third in the men's triple jump, while Johnson and Eichenauer placed fourth and sixth.
Mulabegovic and Hecht finished second and third and Nick Swathwood placed fifth in the discus throw. Cynthia Bortz and Lisa Davis placed fifth and sixth on the women's side. Keith McBride won the hammer throw, while teammate Hecht and J.P. Smolenski placed third and fourth. Serene Ross placed second in the hammer on the women's side, while Bortz and Davis finished fourth and sixth. Ross also finished second in the javelin, one place ahead of teammate Angela Anoliefoh. Brian Smith won the javelin throw on the men's side.