Aug. 25, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The National Collegiate Division I Track Coaches Association recently recognized several Boilermakers for their hard work on the track and in the classroom, and ranked Purdue's women's team among the top 35 squads in the nation based on spring semester grade-point average.
The announcements were made by Ralph Lindeman, track coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy and outgoing president of the Division I coaches' group, following nominations of all athletes who had cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better. All nominated athletes also were NCAA regional qualifiers.
Head coach Lissa Olson's women's team ranked 33rd on the national list (3.18 team GPA), and first among all teams in the Big Ten conference. Penn State, led by head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan, was the only other Big Ten club ranked among the top 50, coming in at No. 44.
Representing the Purdue women's team on the All-Academic Honors list were Amber Ferner, Meghan McKenzie, Simona Kovacic, Megan Darraugh, Laura Stier, Carrie Long and Jocelyn Lindsey, while Kern Woods and Prentice Stovall were selected from the men's side.
Lindsey, McKenzie and Kovacic were all part of the pole vaulting crew, which qualified all five of its members for an NCAA regional appearance. While Lindsey and McKenzie both topped off at the qualifying height of 3.66 meters (12 feet), Kovacic kept improving as the outdoor season progressed, placing third at both the Big Ten Championships (3.81; 12-6) and NCAA Mideast Regionals (4.02; 13-2 1/4).
Kovacic's best performance of the year came at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, where she placed first with a height of 3.91 (12-10).
Long and Stier gave the women's high jump squad two academic honorees. Long posted two wins in the outdoor long jump against Indiana and at the Boilermaker Invite, both times reaching the qualifying mark of 1.70 (5-7). Stier, a freshman from Greensburg, Ind., recorded a career-best of 1.70 at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, placing seventh overall.
Ferner, a sophomore, remained one of Purdue's top long-distance threats through the indoor and outdoor seasons. The West Lafayette High School product, who recorded a win at the Indiana State indoor dual in the 3,000, went on to post three regional qualifying times in the steeplechase during the outdoor campaign. Her best time was 10:41.12, which placed her seventh at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Woods also emerged as a sophomore last season, qualifying for regionals in the long jump. The Indianapolis native leaped a personal best 7.36 (24-1 3/4) to earn first place at the Boilermaker Invite. Woods was also active in the 110-meter hurdles, placing eighth at Big Ten Outdoors with a time of 14.55.
Stovall, who graduated from Purdue in May along with Kovacic and McKenzie, left the track and field program as one of its most decorated athletes.
A native of Lafayette, Ind., Stovall guided the Boilermakers to a second-place finish at the 2003 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, their best finish since 1990. The 2003 Dave Rankin Track Most Valuable Player collected wins in the 100-meter dash and with the 4x100 relay team, which set a Minnesota Bierman Track record of 39.75 seconds. Stovall also finished runner-up in the 110-hurdles and placed fifth in the 200.
This outdoor season Stovall recorded career bests in the 100, 200, and 110 hurdles, and helped the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams set school records. Both relay squads clocked their record-breaking marks at the prestigious Texas Relays in April. Stovall's times in the 100 (10.39) and the 110 hurdles (13.96) are among the five fastest recorded in school history.
One of his final collegiate accolades was being named to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-America Track and Field third team in June.