Jan. 17, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue track teams kicked off the 2004 indoor campaign with several top finishes at their own Purdue Invitational Saturday. The meet was not scored, but offered an opportunity for the Boilermakers to start things off on the right foot at home and work towards new personal bests.
The throwers led the way for the Boilermaker men as three athletes attained NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the season opener, while Purdue swept the shot put and took first in five other events. Nedzad Mulabegovic, a two-time NCAA competitor and the school record holder in the shot put, continued his success in the event with a first-place toss of 60-feet 7 3/4 inches, a provisional qualifying mark. Senior Scott Hecht and freshman Tyler Miller helped Purdue sweep the event with second and third place throws of 50-feet 6-inches and 50-feet 3 1/2 inches respectively. In the weight throw, senior Keith McBride tacked two and a half feet on to his personal best (66-3) to record a first-place and provisional qualifying toss of 68-feet 9 3/4 inches. Hecht posted a personal best toss of 66-feet 7 1/4 inches to garner third in the weight. McBride and Hecht's marks rank second and third on Purdue's all-time indoor track best list.
The Boilermaker distance runners also came through for the team. Senior Jason Carlson captured the 5000-meter run title with a time of 15:16.68, while senior Mike Ciccarelli posted a personal best time of 8:40.18 en route to winning the 3,000 meter. Junior Kyle Orender clocked a winning time of 4:23.52 in the mile run, while also taking second in the 800 meter (2:00.72).
Junior Kern Woods also had a big day for Purdue, winning the long jump with a leap of 22-feet 7 3/4 inches and taking second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.34 seconds. All told, the men placed 15 athletes among the top three in 12 events.
On the women's side, senior T'Nita Waters recorded the third fastest 60-meter dash time in Purdue indoor history, clocking a winning time of 7.57. The time ties Shonda Robinson's mark from Feb. 26, 2000. Waters tallied a preliminary time of 7.61 seconds, a clocking which ranks fourth on the Boilermaker all-time list. Junior Gina Harvey took the 200m title with a time of 26.01, while also finishing second in the 400-meter run (58.81). Senior Kim Jordan won the 800m with a clocking of 2:20.40, while senior Kelly VanAbeele finished second just three hundredths of a second behind. Junior Amber Ferner took the 5000-meter title with a time of 17:43.64, while senior Kara Lahey placed second in 17:57.94.
The female throwers also had a good day as they swept the weight throw and won the shot put title. Senior Tiffany Britten won the shot with a toss of 47-feet 1 3/4 inches, which ties Charity Smead for the fifth-best mark in Purdue indoor history. Junior Courtney Magnuson led the Purdue weight throw barrage with a personal best heave of 55-feet 10 1/4 inches en route to a first-place finish. Freshman Astin Steward placed second with a toss of 55-7 1/2, while Britten rounded out the top three with a personal best mark of 55-5 3/4.
Purdue alumni also had strong showings in the meet. Former pole vaulters Ebbie Messinger, Simona Kovacic and Katie Rorem swept the event, followed by Boilermaker sophomore Jocelyn Lindsay, who finished fourth with a clearance of 12 feet. Assistant coach Carri Long won the high jump, while competing for the Indiana Invaders, as former pole vaulter Pooh Williams claimed that event title on the men's side.
The Boilermakers will now take to the road for a January 24 triangular meet against Ohio State and Indiana in Columbus, Ohio.