June 10, 2003
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Twelve members of the Purdue Track and Field team will head to Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday morning to begin final preparations for the NCAA Championships, which start Wednesday. The four-day event is being hosted by California State University Sacramento.
Purdue's determined dozen consists of Kenneth Baxter, Jamar Green, Shaun Guice, Scott Hecht, Igor Kirin, Simona Kovacic, Keith McBride, Nedzad Mulabegovic, Jacques Reeves, John Paul Smolenski, Prentice Stovall and Pooh Williams.
Baxter, Guice, McBride, Kovacic and Williams automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing among the top five at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. The remaining roster members were chosen as at-large selections, meaning that they were selected based on regular season performances and rankings.
4x100-meter relayFirst Round: Wednesday, June 11, 8:05 p.m. CSTFinals: Friday, June 13, 9:10 p.m. CSTThe Boilermaker 4x100 team of Baxter, Green, Reeves and Stovall benefited greatly from the at-large selection process, since it was disqualified from the regional meet for a false start. However, through much of the regular season, Purdue's stealth squad could do wrong.The quartet opened its 2003 outdoor campaign by shattering the school record at the Texas Relays with a brilliant mark of 39.50 seconds, currently the 10th fastest time in the nation. The 4x100 finished fourth at Texas with that time, but would go on to win titles at the Sea Ray Relays and at the Big Ten Championships. Purdue also had a respectable showing at the Penn Relays where they placed sixth in 40.56.
The 4x100 faired quite well against its opposition at the Mideast Regional Championships, placing third in the preliminaries, but it will have to step up its pace against favorites Mississippi State, Tennessee and LSU. Texas and Middle Tennessee State should also challenge Purdue for a spot in Friday's eight-team finale.
200-meter dashFirst Round: Thursday, June 12, 12:40 p.m.Semifinals: Thursday, June 12, 8:45 p.m.Finals: Saturday, June 14, 10:10 p.m.Baxter is the only Boilermaker competing in more than one event. He's been Purdue's biggest threat in the 200 all season, and proved that in the postseason finishing first at the Big Ten Championships and third at the Mideast Regionals.
Baxter's top time of 20.86 was recorded this season at the Billy Hayes Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., but he'll have to trim that mark considerably to beat out Marquis Davis. The Mississippi State Bulldog owns the nation's fastest time of 20.15, which is a full tenth of a second faster than his closest competitor.
The crowded 200 field also features Brendan Christian of Texas and Stanford Routt of Houston, both of whom have finished below the 20.30 mark; Bulldog Pierre Browne, who copped the bronze medal at last year's NCAA meet, and Kansas State's Leo Bookman.
High JumpQualifying: Thursday, June 12, 3:30 p.m.Finals: Saturday, June 14, 6:30 p.m.After battling through a slow start, Guice has become one of the more dependable athletes on the Purdue roster in recent weeks. Guice's hot streak began the first weekend of May, placing second against Indiana with a height of 2.12 meters (6-11 1/2). He went down an inch the next week at the Billy Hayes Invitational, but was still able to win the high jump title in Bloomington, Ind.
Once the postseason started, there was no stopping Guice. The six-time All-American won the high jump title at the Big Ten Championships with a leap of 2.21 (7-3) and at regionals placed second after hovering over the 2.13 mark (6-11 3/4).
Should Guice deliver a repeat performance of his Big Ten outing, then he'll land right near the top of the leaderboard. The season's highest mark belongs to Texas Southern's Kingsley Idemudia (7-5), but many of the other top competitors have only peaked at 7-4 including Cal freshman Teak Wilburn and USC's David Jaworski, making Guice a likely candidate for All-America honors.
Shot PutQualifying: Wednesday, June 11, 10:35 p.m.Finals: Friday, June 13, 9:30 p.m.Purdue is well represented in this event by school record holder Mulabegovic and by Hecht, who began the 2003 season with four consecutive victories.
Hecht began the year with a modest win at the Purdue Invitational, registering a distance of 16.42 meters (53-11). He then went on to win at more prestigious meets, including the Sea Ray and Penn relays. Hecht's winning mark at the Sea Ray Relays was a personal record of 18.28 (59-11 3/4). His fifth and final win of the season came at the Billy Hayes Invitational, where he posted a distance of 17.11 (56-1 3/4).
Mulabegovic, who missed the first half of the season due to injury, is largely responsible for slowing down his teammate's winning streak. The native of Zagreb, Croatia, made his first appearance in the Shot Put Championships at the Penn Relays and placed third with a push of 18.83 (61-9 1/2).
Mulabegovic's final three tosses of the season each topped his previous school record. His first record breaking performance came against Indiana at Rankin Track and Field, where he registered a distance of 19.49 (63-11 1/2). Two weeks later, Mulabegovic broke that record by a centimeter with a silver-medal showing at the Big Championships and at Mideast Regionals again rewrote his record book with a third-place effort of 19.51 (64- 1/4).
While Mulabegovic and Hecht may be tops among the Big Ten, they'll have some steep competition to deal with in Sacramento. Missouri's Christian Cantwell enters as the slight favorite after edging Nebraska's Carl Myerscough at the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago. Cantwell's best throw was attained at the Prefontaine Classic after hitting the 70-5 mark. Ohio State's Dan Taylor, who held off Mulabegovic and Hecht at Big Tens with his first-place effort of 64-8, is also a favorite for the top prize. Myerscough won the 2003 Indoor title with a push of 70-5.
Hammer ThrowQualifying: Wednesday, June 11, 7 p.m.Finals: Friday, June 13, 12 p.m.If Purdue has a chance of capturing the team title, then its hammer throwing corps of Smolenski, McBride and Kirin will all have to place among the top eight. This talented group has steadily improved its performances from meet-to-meet, and all are ranked among the top five hammer throwers in school history.
Smolenski, who owns the school's second best mark at 64.34 meters (211 feet, 1 inch), is riding a bit of a hot streak entering the national championships. Since May all of his throws have landed well past the 200-feet mark, including his bronze-medal winning toss at the Big Ten Championships.
McBride is one of the few Boilermakers who benefited from the Mideast Regional Championships after finishing a surprising fourth. The junior has excelled at larger meets such as the Big Ten Championships and Penn Relays, and should expect to do so in Sacramento. His personal best of 63.97 (209-10) ranks third on the school's all-time list.
Unlike McBride, Kirin did not compete well at regionals, but was still invited to the big dance based on his regular season successes. Kirin, who attained the regional qualifying mark in all his attempts, broke his personal record against Indiana, with a second-place launch of 62.32 (204-5). His record ranks fourth in the school record book.
Awaiting the Boilermakers in Sacramento is the Georgia duo of Panagiotis Mavraganis and Lucais Mackay. Mavraganis is the favorite for this competition, although Colorado State's Drew Lofton is the list leader at 232-11.
Pole VaultMen's Qualifying: Wednesday, June 11, 1 p.m.Women's Qualifying, Thursday, June 12, 12 p.m.Men's Finals: Friday, June 13, 8 p.m.Women's Finals: Saturday, June 14, 8 p.m.The NCAA Mideast Regional Championships were a great stop for both Williams and Kovacic. The senior Boilermaker tandem both medaled, with Williams placing first and Kovacic third. Kovacic set a personal record in Columbus of 4.02 meters (13 feet, 2 1/4 inches) and Williams tied his personal best of 5.36m (17-7).
Williams title was his fourth of the season. He also picked up wins at the Miami (Ohio) Invite, the Boilermaker Invitational and against Indiana. At the Big Ten Championships, Williams placed third at 5.00 (16-4 3/4).
Kovacic also has multiple title wins this season; her first coming at the Pomona-Pitzer meet, where she reached a height of 3.97 (13- 1/4). Her two other titles were earned at the Miami (Ohio) Invite and against Indiana. Kovacic earned the bronze at the Big Tens, peaking at a height of 3.81 (12-6).
Williams will be matched up against several tough competitors including Robison Pratt of Brigham Young. Pratt, a Mexican with considerable international experience, jumped 18-3 to win the West regional. Many of the nation's top pole vaulters seemed to be located on the West Coast, with Yoo Kim of UCLA, Jeff Ryan of USC and Giovanni Lanara of Fullerton State all being capable of attaining the gold medal.
Kovacic's top competitor looks to be Oregon's Becky Holliday, who recently set a collegiate outdoor record of 14-8 in winning the West regional. Also in contention will be Florida's Lacy Johnson and Arkansas' April Steiner.
The 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships kick off Wednesday at 12 p.m. CST, with the qualifying round of the women's discus. For complete results and a full schedule of events, fans can access several track and field web sites including www.trackshark.com, www.hornetsports.com and www.ncaasports.com.
Purdue sports information will provide nightly recaps at the conclusion of each day's events at www.purduesports.com. CBS will televise a portion of the meet Saturday at 2 p.m.