May 20, 2003
GUICE RECEIVES VARSITY WALK AWARD: Big Ten high jump champion Shaun Guice was recently presented with the 2003 Varsity Walk Award ... the Varsity Walk Award is presented each spring to the outstanding senior who has participated as a varsity athlete and brought national recognition to Purdue ... an awards tower listing all the recipients stands at the northwest corner of the Materials and Electrical Engineering buildings ... Bob Verplank, a 1957 Purdue graduate, was the originator of the Varsity Walk ... Guice, a part of this year's senior class, still has a year of eligibility left for one more outdoor season ... the native of Lima, Ohio, redshirted in the spring of 2002 ... Guice is a six-time All-American and has won four Big Ten high jump championships.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP (MEN): Purdue finished second at the 2003 Big Ten Championships with 148 points, which is the highest point total ever recorded by a Boilermaker team ... the second-place showing is Purdue's highest since 1990 ... the team placed third in 2002 ... Minnesota won on its home track collecting a Big Ten meet record of 168.5 points ... the 4x100-meter relay team of Kenneth Baxter, Jamar Green, Jacques Reeves and Prentice Stovall set a new Bierman Track and Field record with its first-place time of 39.75 seconds ... Stovall later finished runner-up in the 110 hurdles and led a four-way Boilermaker sweep in the 100 ... Stovall was followed to the finish line by teammates Baxter, Reeves and Joey Harris ... Baxter and Green finished one-two in the 200, with Stovall finishing a close fifth ... Shaun Guice won his third Big Ten outdoor championship in the high jump after registering a height of 2.21 meters (7 feet, 3 inches) ... Boilermaker Derek Watkins earned third-place honors in the high jump with a career-best leap of 2.15 (7-0 1/4) ... John Paul Smolenski earned Purdue's first medal of the tournament, placing third in the hammer throw ... Nedzad Mulabegovic earned the silver medal for the shot put, launching a school-best mark of 19.50 (63-11 3/4) ... Brian Smith received second-place honors in the javelin after posting a career-best launch of 66.86 (219-4) ... Pooh Williams collected the bronze for his pole vault of 5.00 (16-4 3/4) ... Jerod Void qualified for NCAA regionals after placing third in the 110 hurdles at 14.19.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP (WOMEN): Purdue finished eighth at the 2003 Big Ten Championships with 49 points ... Michigan won the team title with 137 points ... Shanna Carter finished runner-up in the heptathlon with a career-best 4,937 points ... Tiffany Britten shattered the school's shot put record with a sixth-place launch of 15.34 (50-4) ... Simona Kovacic picked up Purdue's first medal of the meet, placing third in the pole vault (3.81, 12-6) ... Megan Darraugh finished fifth in pole vault, reaching a height of 3.66 (12-0) ... Courtney Magnuson captured sixth place in the hammer throw with a personal best of 55.76 (182-11) ... Krissy Liphardt qualifed for NCAA regionals in the 100 hurdles after clocking a time of 13.82 ... Amber Ferner earned seventh-place points with her personal-best time of 10:41.12 in the steeplechase ... Carrie Long and Laura Stier finished among the top-eight in the high jump ... Stier reached a career-best height of 1.70 (5-7) ... Megan McNeilly reached the finals of the 800 and placed sixth at 2:12.16 ... the 4x400 relay team of Ragina Harvey, Kim Jordan, Liphardt and Ashley Kemp completed their race with an NCAA regional qualifying time of 3:44.19.
THE SWEEP IS ON: Purdue sprinters Prentice Stovall, Kenneth Baxter, Jacques Reeves and Joey Harris swept the top-four spots in the 100-meter dash ... Stovall led the way with a personal record of 10.39 seconds ... Baxter (10.47; 2nd) and Harris (10.52; 4th) also recorded career highs ... Reeves took third in 10.54 ... the sweep catapulted the Boilermakers from fourth to second in the team standings ... this quartet also swept the top four places in the 60 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, finishing in the exact same order.
THE LAST IN LINE: Ragina Harvey, Kim Jordan, Ashley Kemp, Laura Stier and Jerod Void were added to Purdue's NCAA Mideast Regional Championship roster with their performances at the Big Ten Championships ... Harvey, Jordan and Kemp were all part of the 4x400 team which clocked a fourth-place time of 3:44.19 ... Stier hit the regional qualifying mark of 1.70 (5-7) in the high jump ... Void recorded a career-best mark of 14.19 in the 110 hurdles ... Krissy Liphardt, the fourth member of the 4x400 squad, added herself to the regional's 100 hurdle field with a time of 13.82 seconds ... Purdue's final roster count for the regional meet is 35 athletes.
GOOD, BETTER, BEST: Three members of assistant coach John Zera's hammer throwing crew recorded personal bests at the Big Ten Championships ... J.P. Smolenski led the charge with a third-place toss of 64.34 (211-1) and was followed by teammates Keith McBride (63.97, 209-10) and Scott Hecht (61.35, 201-3) ... Zera's hammer men, a group which also includes Igor Kirin, own four of the school's top five all-time performances ... former Boilermaker Chris Brown heads the top-five list at 67.74 (222-3) ... Smolenski's latest effort places him second ... McBride, Hecht and Kirin round out the top five ... in the shot put, Nedzad Mulabegovic and Chris White registered personal bests at the Big Tens ... Mulabegovic broke his own school record with a push of 19.50 (63-11 3/4) ... White's eighth-place effort was measured at 16.82 (55-2 1/4).
SHOT DOWN: Tiffany Britten broke the school record in the shot put with her sixth-place launch of 15.34 (50-4) at the Big Ten Championships ... the old record of 14.90 (48-0) had been held by Stacy Hartman since May of 1985 ... Britten came within a centimeter of breaking Hartman's record two weeks ago against Indiana at Rankin Track and Field.
MR. SMITH GOES TO MINNESOTA: Brian Smith impressed his competition at the Big Ten Championships after placing second in the javelin with a personal best of 66.87 (219-5) ... Smith entered the meet ranked seventh in the conference and 61st in the nation ... his previous best of 63.92 (209-8) was recorded at the Texas Relays on April 5 ... Smith finished runner-up to Iowa's Bill Neuman, who launched a meet record breaking throw of 72.39 (237-6) ... the junior has qualified for regionals in each of his five outings ... he has won two championships this outdoor season, a pair of runner-up titles and a bronze medal at the Texas Relays.
WONDER WOMAN: It was Shanna Carter, not Linda Carter, who looked like a superhero at the Big Ten Championships ... the junior upset the heptahtlon field with her second-place point total of 4,937 ... during the first day of competition Carter clocked a time of 15.20 in the 100-meter hurdles, recorded a personal best in the high jump of 1.58 (5-2 1/4), tossed the shot put 11.06 (36-3 1/2) and scored a winning time of 25.99 in the 200 ... Carter finished off her run with a personal best of 5.66 (18-7) in the long jump, registered a distance of 30.25 (99-3) in the javelin and posted a career best of 2:29.41 in 800.
TAKE A BREAK: Purdue's men's and women's track and field teams have their first weekend off from competition this Memorial Day weekend ... The Boilermakers' next competition is at the NCAA Mid East Regionals in Columbus, Ohio, from May 30-31 ... the top five finishers in each individual event and the top three relay teams will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif., from June 11-14 ... the track and field committee will also select a group of at-large athletes to round out the field in each event ... the Mid East region consists of competitiors representing 12 states including Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Michigan.
TRACK ON TV: Fox Sports Chicago will televise the Big Ten Track Championships on the following dates: Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 31 at 3 p.m.
2003 NCAA Regional Qualifiers
Athlete Event Time/Mark Meet (date)Angela Anoliefoh Javelin 43.46m Purdue Invitational (3/29)Kenneth Baxter 100 10.47 Big Tens (5/18) 200 20.86 Billy Hayes Invite (5/11) 4x100 39.50 Texas Relays (4/5)Tiffany Britten Shot Put 15.34m Big Tens (5/17)Shanna Carter 4x100 46.17 Billy Hayes Invite (5/11)Megan Darraugh Pole Vault 3.66m Big Tens (5/16)Amber Ferner 3,000 St. 10:41.12 Big Tens (5/17)Jamar Green 4x100 39.50 Texas Relays (4/5) 200 21.04 Big Tens (5/18) Long Jump 7.54m Indiana (5/3)Shaun Guice High Jump 2.21m Big Tens (5/17)LaShauna Harris 4x100 46.17 Billy Hayes Invite (5/11)Ragina Harvey 4x400 3:44.19 Big Tens (5/18)Scott Hecht Hammer Throw 61.35m Big Tens (5/16) Shot Put 18.28m Sea Ray Relays (4/12) Discus 52.00m Indiana (5/3)Kim Jordan 4x400 3:44.19 Big Tens (5/18)Ashley Kemp 4x400 3:44.19 Big Tens (5/18)Igor Kirin Hammer Throw 62.32m Indiana (5/3)Simona Kovacic Pole Vault 4.00m Miami Invite (4/12)Kara Lahey 3,000 St. 10:49.45 Indiana (5/3)Jocelyn Lindsay Pole Vault 3.66m Boilermaker Invite (4/26)Krissy Liphardt 400 hurdles 59.71 Mt. SAC Relays (4/18) 4x100 46.17 Billy Hayes Invite (5/11) 4x400 3:44.19 Big Tens (5/18) 100 hurdles 13.82 Big Tens (5/18)Carrie Long High Jump 1.70m Big Tens (5/18)Courtney Magnuson Hammer Throw 55.76m Big Tens (5/16)Keith McBride Hammer Throw 63.97m Big Tens (5/16) Discus 52.96m Indiana (5/3)Meghan McKenzie Pole Vault 3.66m Boilermaker Invite (4/26)Nedzad Mulabegovic Shot Put 19.50m Big Tens (5/18) Discus 53.76m Indiana (5/3)Jacques Reeves 4x100 39.50 Texas Relays (4/5) 100 10.40 Indiana (5/3) 200 20.97 Indiana (5/3)Brian Smith Javelin 66.86m Big Tens (5/18)J.P. Smolenski Hammer Throw 64.34m Big Tens (5/16)Amy Spellmeyer Pole Vault 3.66m Billy Hayes Invite (5/11)Shanette Stewart 4x100 46.17 Billy Hayes Invite (5/11)Laura Stier High Jump 1.70m Big Tens (5/18)Prentice Stovall 4x100 40.60 Purdue Invitational (3/29) 100 10.39 Big Tens (5/18) 200 21.08 Billy Hayes Invite (5/11) 110 hurdles 13.96 Big Tens (5/17)Jerod Void 110 hurdles 14.19 Big Tens (5/18)Derek Watkins High Jump 2.15m Big Tens (5/17)Chris White Shot Put 16.82m Big Tens (5/18)Hence Williams Pole Vault 5.35m Boilermaker Invite (4/26)Kern Woods Long Jump 7.36m Boilermaker Invite (4/26)