March 27, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Spring break is officially over for the Purdue track and field teams. After spending a well deserved week off, both the men's and women's squads are fully recharged and are eager to begin their outdoor seasons starting Friday with the Purdue Invitational.
"The outdoor season is a full track and field season itself," said Purdue head coach Lissa Olson, who recently guided five of her Boilermakers to the NCAA Indoor Championships. "New events are added and switched around from the indoor season, and since everyone's performance is affected by the weather conditions in some capacity, this meet will provide us with a good opportunity to get adjusted."
The Boilermakers' season-opening invitational welcomes in Illinois, Indiana, Ball State, Butler, IPFW, Louisville, Marquette, Valparaiso, Dayton and Illinois-Chicago. The meet will be a non-scoring affair, which will give the athletes a chance to concentrate on breaking their personal bests and possibly qualifying for a spot at the NCAA Championships.
In fact, Purdue's home dual meet against archrival Indiana on May 3, is the only scored meet that has been scheduled. The Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., will be team scored as well.
After this weekend's invitational, Purdue will not compete at Rankin Track and Field until the final week of April, when it hosts the Boilermaker Invitational on the 25th and 26th. During their month-long road trip, the Boilermakers will be traveling across the country, competing in such prestigious meets as the Texas Relays (Austin, Texas), the Sea Ray Relays (Knoxville, Tenn.) and the Mt. Sac Relays (Walnut Creek, Calif.).
A couple of Boilermakers will get a head start on the road trip this weekend, with distance runners Kyle Orender and Amber Ferner both taking part in the Stanford Invitational.
Later in the year, Purdue's finest will compete at the Penn Relays (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa). Also new to the outdoor schedule is an NCAA Regional Championship meet, which will be held in Columbus, Ohio, from May 30-31, two weeks prior to the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Because the addition of the Regional Championship meet extends the outdoor season by a few weeks, Coach Olson decided that it would be in her athlete's best interest to have a few extra days off in between the end of the indoor season and the start of the outdoor.
"Spring break provided them with not only a physical break, but a mental break as well," said Olson. "Coming into this outdoor season, I wanted everyone to come back focused and with renewed energy and enthusiasm."
The Purdue Invitational begins Friday, March 28, at 3 p.m. with the men's hammer throw. Other events taking place Friday include the shot put, triple jump and the 3,000 and 10,000-meter runs. Saturday's competitions start at 11 a.m. with the javelin throw.
Results of the meet will be posted at www.purduesports.com following the conclusion of the each day's final event.