June 13, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Although Croatian Nedzad Mulabegovic cannot leave the NCAA Championships as an All-American, he can be considered one of the best shot put throwers in the world.
Mulabegovic placed fourth in the shot put championship Friday night, giving Purdue's men's track and field team its first five points of the tournament. The sophomore, who had missed the first half of the season with an injury, recorded a school record launch of 19.71 meters (64 feet, 8 inches), which broke his previous team record by two decimeters (7 3/4 inches).
Mulabegovic had improved little by little as the season wore on, but Friday's performance exceeded most or all expectations. The native of Zagreb, Croatia, began the year with a third-place finish at the Penn Relays (18.83; 61-9 1/2) and then proceeded to break his school record three times in three tries, improving on each distance by a centimeter.
The shot put specialist recorded a first-place mark of 19.49 (63-11 1/2) against Indiana at home, finished runner-up at the Big Ten Championships (19.50; 63-11 3/4) and earned the bronze medal at regionals (19.51; 64- 1/4).
English-born Carl Myerscough of Nebraska captured the top prize, registering a distance of 21.92 (71-11). Missouri's Christian Cantwell (21.56; 70-9) and Ohio State's Dan Taylor (20.23; 66-4 1/2) accompanied Myercough to the medal stand to claim the silver and bronze medals.
Keith McBride placed 12th in the hammer throw finals. The junior posted a top mark of 58.24 (191 -1) in his second NCAA appearance. Georgia's Lucais MacKay won the title with his final effort of 70.19 (230-03). Bulldog senior Panagiotis Mavraganis earned Georgia six more points with his third-place distance of 67.21 (220-06).
Pooh Williams placed 12th in the pole vault championship. The senior, making his final NCAA appearance, cleared the 5.15 (16-10 3/4) bar in his second attempt, but could not hover over the 5.30 mark. Nebraska's Eric Eshbach won the pole vault title with a leap of 5.45 (17-10 1/2).
Rookie pole vault sensation Robison Pratt of Brigham Young finished last after failing to record a height. A confident Pratt passed on the 5.15 bar and later fouled out trying to clear the 5.30 mark. Favorites Yoo Kim of UCLA and Jeff Ryan of USC tied for fifth at 5.30 (17-4 1/2).
Kenneth Baxter will serve as Purdue's final competitor of the weekend competing in Saturday night's 200-meter dash championship. The race is scheduled to start at 10:10 p.m.