May 1, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's track and field teams still have two championship meets left on the 2003 outdoor schedule, but their biggest challenge arrives this Saturday when the nationally ranked Indiana Hoosiers invade Rankin Track and Field. The meet begins at 10:30 a.m. with the women's javelin. Running events commence at 12 p.m. with the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Indiana's men's squad is ranked No. 21 on the latest Trackwire Top 25, and its women's club is No. 13. The Hoosier women are also ranked No. 19 on the Trackshark Top 25. Purdue's men were ranked as high as No. 21 this season, but recently slipped off the national polls.
Surprisingly, the all-time outdoor dual meet series between the two archrivals doesn't extend back further than a few seasons. Indiana's women's team holds a 2-1 advantage in its series with Purdue, and the Hoosier men lead their series with the Boilermakers, 2-0. At their last outdoor dual meet on May 7, 2000, the Hoosier men edged Purdue, 103-96, at Rankin.
The women's last outdoor dual meet, held at Rankin on May 6, 2001, was won also by the Hoosiers, 101-97.
During the 2003 indoor season, the Purdue men finished ahead of both Indiana and Ohio State in a triangular meet, while the women placed in between the Hoosiers and Buckeyes.
Saturday's meet is critical for both teams with regards to the Titan Series, the all-sports competition between Purdue and Indiana. The Boilermakers enter this weekend with an 8.5-6.5 lead, and needs both track and field points to help clinch the series title. Purdue and Indiana also compete in men's golf and softball this weekend. The final Titan Series point will be decided between the schools' baseball teams, when they clash in Bloomington, May 10 to 12.
THE ONES TO WATCH
Purdue has received solid performances from a number of its athletes, most notably the pole vaulters, the men's throwing corps and the men's 4x100 relay team. These select groups of individuals have been the difference makers all year, and will be expected to improve for the regular season's biggest meet.
Shaun Guice - Junior - High Jump: Guice, one of the most decorated male field athletes in Purdue history, isn't off to one of his better starts. Through the first five weeks of the outdoor season, Guice had only recorded two heights, however both of them were over the NCAA regional qualifying mark of 2.07m (6-9 1/2). Despite the shaky start, Guice is quite capable of springing over the seven-foot mark with great frequency. He has earned six All-America titles in the high jump, with his most recent coming at the 2003 NCAA Indoor Championships, where he tied for third.
Mark Meet (place)2.13m (6-11 3/4) Purdue Invite (1st)2.15m (7- 1/2) Texas Relays (8th)Scott Hecht - Junior - Throws: Hecht has been an all star among all stars this season. Competing under the guidance of assistant coach John Zera, the junior registered career bests in three events: discus (50.01m, 164-01); hammer (60.53, 198-07) and shot put (17.80, 58-4 3/4). He has hit the regional qualifying mark in all five of his hammer throw attempts, and twice in the shot put. Hecht is undefeated in the shot put, winning competitions at the Sea Ray, Indy and Penn relays.
DiscusMark Meet (place)50.01m (164-1) Purdue Invite (1st)48.05m (157-8) Ohio State Relays (3rd)48.33m (158-7) Sea Ray Relays (2nd)44.86m (147-2) Indy Relays (4th)
Hammer Throw
Mark Meet (place)58.43m (191-08) Purdue Invite (3rd)58.48m (191-10) Ohio State Relays (6th)59.19m (194-2) Sea Ray Relays (2nd)60.27m (197-8) Indy Relays (2nd)60.53m (198-7) Penn Relays (5th)
Shot Put
Mark Meet (place)16.42m (53-11) Purdue Invite (1st)18.28m (59-11 3/4) Sea Ray Relays (1st)17.73m (58-2) Indy Relays (1st)17.80m (58-04 3/4) Penn Relays (1st)
Simona Kovacic - Senior - Pole Vault: Kovacic shot up the school's top outdoor performance chart after registering a winning leap of 4.0m (13-1 1/2) at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational. She became just the second Purdue female athlete to crack the four-meter mark with that effort, the second highest distance attained in Boilermaker track and field history (Ebbie Metzinger; 4.15m, 13-7 1/4). Kovacic entered this season with a career best of 3.81m (12-6), but has topped that mark on three occasions during her final outdoor campaign. Her most recent win was registered at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont, Calif., where she reached a height of 3.97m (13- 1/4).
Mark Meet (place)3.35m (11-0) Purdue Invite (4th)3.85m (12-7 1/2) Texas Relays (t2nd)4.00m (13-1 1/2) Miami Invitational (1st)3.65m (12-0) Mt. SAC Relays (3rd)3.97m (13-1/4) Pomona-Pitzer Invite (1st)Krissy Liphardt - Senior - Sprints/Hurdles: Liphardt provides Purdue with a dual scoring threat in both the long and intermediate hurdle races. The senior has been included in several high-profile meets this season, including the Texas, Mt. San Antonio College and Drake relays. She clocked her best time in the 100m hurdles (14.16) at the Drake Relays, and secured a spot for NCAA Regionals with a time of 59.71 in the 400 hurdles at Mt. SAC.
100m HurdlesMark Meet (place)14.69 Purdue Invite (1st)14.51 Miami Invitational (4th)14.43 Pomona-Pitzer Invite (9th)14.16 Drake Relays (10th)
400m Hurdles
Mark Meet (place)1:05.77 Purdue Invite (2nd)1:01.69 Texas Relays (14th)1:00.52 Miami Invitational (2nd)59.71 Mt. SAC Relays (12th)1:00.91 Pomona-Pitzer Invite (3rd)1:01.61 Drake Relays (15th)
Hence "Pooh" Williams - Senior - Pole Vault: Williams looks to be peaking at the right time. After starting the season hovering around the five-meter (16 feet, 5 inch) mark for the first few weeks, Williams exploded at the Boilermaker Invitational (4/26), reaching a height of 5.35m (17-6 1/2). The senior's mark was an personal outdoor season best; his career best of 5.41m (17-9) was established at the 2003 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Mark Meet (place)4.90m (16-1) Purdue Invite (2nd)5.00m (16-4 3/4) Texas Relays (11th)5.00m (16-4 3/4) Miami Invitational (1st)5.10m (16-8 3/4) Pomona-Pitzer Invite (2nd)5.35m (17-6 1/2) Boilermaker Invite (1st)The 4x100 meter Relay Team
The 4x100 crew of Kenneth Baxter, Jamar Green, Jacques Reeves and Prentice Stovall began the season on fire, but recently hit a speed bump at the Penn Relays, where they recorded a sixth-place time of 40.56, their worst of the year. The squad's best outing came at the Texas Relays, where they recorded a new school record of 39.50 and finished fourth overall. They've scored titles at the Sea Ray Relays (40.14) and at the season-opening Purdue Invitational (40.60).
Mark Meet (place)39.98 Texas Relays (prelim heat, 2nd)39.50 Texas Relays (finals, 4th)40.60 Purdue Invite (1st)40.14 Sea Ray Relays (1st)40.33 Penn Relays (prelim heat, 1st)40.56 Penn Relays (finals, 6th)