March 29, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.. - Purdue's outdoor season-opening track meet exceeded all expectations as the Boilermakers recorded seventeen wins and qualified four more athletes for the NCAA Regional Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
Javelin throwers Angela Anoliefoh and Brian Smith were the first to qualify for regionals after both recorded first-place launches. Anoliefoh's effort traveled 43.46 meters (142 feet, 7 inches), easily surpassing the regional standard of 41.48. Smith's best attempt flew 62.77 (205-11).
Purdue's success in the field events continued to the pole vault, where Hence "Pooh" Williams reached the regional qualifying height of 4.90 (16-1). Williams will be joined at regionals by teammate Shaun Guice, who managed to qualify after recording a first-place leap of 2.13 (6-11 3/4) in the high jump.
Guice recently became the first male track and field athlete in Purdue history to collect All-America honors in four consecutive seasons when he tied for third in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He has earned a total of six All-American citations in his four years at Purdue, collecting two at the outdoor championships and four at the indoor championships.
On Friday, the men's hammer throwing quartet of Igor Kirin, Keith McBride, Scott Hecht and John Paul Smolenski earned a spot at regionals after bypassing the qualifying mark of 54.56. Hecht also qualified in the shot put with a launch of 16.43 (53-11), but just missed the discus standard with a first-place effort of 50.01 (164-1). The regional qualifying distance is 50.30.
Even though the Boilermakers' best marks were recorded in the field, they performed nearly as well on the track, recording 11 victories, seven second-places showings and five third-place finishes. Ragina Harvey collected a team-best two wins Saturday, finishing first in the 400 meter dash (58.63 seconds) and the 200 (25.94).
Other winners from the women's track team included Kim Jordan, who led a three-way sweep in the 800 (2:15.73), and Krissy Liphardt, who took the top spot in the 100 hurdles (14.69).
Purdue's men's track squad swept the top three spots in the 110 hurdles, 100 and 200 dashes. Brad Bolyard and Prentice Stovall tied for first in the 200, when both came across the line in 22.74. Stovall later captured sole possession of first place in the 110 hurdles, completing the course in 14.82.
2003 NCAA Indoor competitor Kenneth Baxter led a Boilermaker trio to the finish line in the 100 10.88), with Stovall finishing third in 11.22. Jacque Reeves placed in between at 10.91.
Dedrick Tillerson captured Purdue's final individual victory of the weekend with a time of 56.08 in the 400 hurdles.
Three of the Boilermakers' relay teams placed first, headed by the men's 4x100 team of Baxter, Green, Reeves and Stovall, which qualified for a spot at the regional meet with a clip of 40.60. Also reaching the gold-medal stand were the women's 4x400 squad and the 4x100 team.
Purdue distance runners Kyle Orender and Amber Ferner spent the weekend competing at the Stanford Invitational. Ferner clocked a regional qualifying time of 10:49.75 in the 3,000 steeplechase and Orender placed 9th in the 10,000, finishing at 29:53.10.
The Boilermakers' next competition is at the prestigious Texas Relays. The meet, being held at the University of Texas, runs from April 3 - 5.