Jan. 18, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue track and field teams competed in the non-scored Purdue Invitational meet on Saturday in Lambert Fieldhouse. It was the first meet of the year for the Boilermakers.
"Coming into today, we had no expectations," said Purdue head track and field coach Lissa Olson. "We basically came off a four-week layoff and we saw some very encouraging marks today from several different athletes. The athletes that maintained their training over the holiday break had a great day and you could tell. I am very excited abou the marks of several of our athletes, as the purpose of today's meet was to give us a starting point and a goal to work towards. We still have that goal to get better every meet and when we do that, we're right on track for a Big Ten Championship."
Although the day's events were not scored, several individuals had outstanding individual performances.
In the women's shot put, Tiffany Britten set a personal record with her first-place finish and in the men's shot put, Scott Hecht also set a PR with his win. He finished third in the weight throw, also a personal record.
In the weight throw, Keith McBride gave the Boilermakers a 1-2 punch and set his NCAA provisional mark with a toss of 20.19 meters (69'6 ?").
Jamar Green tallied a personal record with a win in the long jump. His jump of 7.37 meters (24'2 ?") was just shy of the NCAA provisional cut.
Coach and athlete Carri Long competed well, as she pulled double-duty for the Boilermakers and the Indiana Invaders Track Club. Long high jumped 1.83 meters (6'0") to qualify herself for the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Shaun Guice also won the men's high jump and set a provisional mark for the NCAA Championships with a jump of 2.21 meters (7'3").
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, Prentice Stovall set a new Purdue school record with a time of 7.92, while also tallying his NCAA provisional qualifying time.
David Rae won the men's 3,000 meter race in 8:47.65 and Lindsay Zinn tallied a first-place finish in the women's 5,000 meters with a time of 17:23.98.
Wrapping up the day, the Boilermakers took first, second, third and fourth places in the men's 60-meter dash with Kenneth Baxter recording a personal record.
The Boilermakers will return to the track on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 10 a.m., when they host Big Ten rivals Indiana and Ohio State in a tri-meet. The throwing events will begin at approximately 9 a.m.
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