Jan. 30, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Edmonds Cup has been in existence for nine years, and all nine times the Boilermakers have exited Lambert Fieldhouse with the trophy above their heads. On Friday night it was the same story as the men's and women's track and field teams combined to outscore the Indiana State Sycamores, 186-136.
The Edmonds Cup, which was first presented in 1996 to winner of the Purdue and Indiana State dual, has been part of the Boilermakers' trophy case since its inception. The award is named for Gene Edmonds, who is a longtime USA Track and Field official and a former women's coach at Purdue.
On a night of many highlights, thrower Nedzad Mulabegovic probably provided the biggest with his school record breaking throw of 64 feet, 5 1/4 inches (19.64 meters) in the shot put. His throw also made him the second Boilermaker this season to hit an NCAA 'A' mark, joining fellow thrower Keith McBride. Mulabegovic also held the previous school record of 64-1 (19.53), which he recorded in 2002.
Not to be outdone, Tiffany Britten also broke the school shot put record while posting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 50-9 1/4 (15.47), making her the first female Boilermaker to attain an NCAA mark this season. Her winning launch was a career best by over three feet.
Britten's mark shattered the old school record of 48-4 (14.73), which was established by Darria Clayton in February of 1998.
Scott Hecht, who placed right behind Mulabegovic in the shot, posted a season-best launch of 68-3 3/4 (20.82) in the weight throw, topping runner-up McBride (67-7, 20.60) by over six inches. Igor Kirin and John Paul Smolenski also recorded season bests in this event.
For the third consecutive meet, Hecht's and McBride's tosses were over the NCAA provisional qualifying standard of 19.50 meters.
Courntey Magnuson and Astin Steward captured the top two spots in the weight throw. Magnuson led the way with a launch of 57-11 1/4 (17.66); however, Steward's second-place throw was a career best 56-9 1/4 (17.30).
Assistant coach John Zera said that Steward's throws are considerably better than those recorded by Serene Ross and Toyinda Wilson-Smith as freshmen. Steward's weight throw mark is approximately eight feet better than Ross' and five feet better than Wilson-Smith's. Both Ross and Wilson-Smith are two of the most decorated female athletes in Purdue history, with Ross an NCAA champion in the javelin and Wilson-Smith in the weight throw.
"It's been exciting for me to work with Astin, since the weight throw is brand new to her," said Zera. "She still has to keep developing and knows she can do better, but she is still building confidence from meet to meet."
Lindsay Zinn's successful comeback continued for a second straight week. The redshirt sophomore, who missed all of last season with an injury, won the mile run with a time of 4:59.84. Last week at the Ohio State triangular, she won the 3,000-meter run in 9:51.52.
"I was double happy with Lindsay's performance tonight," said assistant coach Mike Poehlein. "For the last two weeks, not only has she run good times, but she has also beaten quality opponents. The Indiana State girl (Jessica Crowder) would not go away, she kept fighting, but Lindsay is a grinder and pushed that girl back."
The distance runner's successes extended into the men's mile run, where Kyle Orender and Mike Ciccarelli stole the top two positions. Orender beat Ciccarelli by just under one second, 4:18.21 to 4:19.17. Both times were season bests for the Boilermaker duo. Orender later made it a two win night, capturing the men's 3,000 title in 8:40.13.
In the women's 3,000-meter run, Kara Lahey and Amber Ferner captured the first and second spots, with Lahey crossing first in 10:03.68. Ferner crossed in 10:08.69.
Purdue's dominance in the distance perhaps inspired the sprinters and hurdlers as several runners finished first or second. In the 60-meter hurdles, LaShauna Harris and Lindsey Singleton repeated a Boilermaker trend of one-two finishes, while Kern Woods took the top spot in his 60 hurdle race at 8.16. Purdue also swept the 60-meter dash with T'Nita Waters and Kenneth Baxter each winning in convincing fashion. Terrell Thompson and Kim Jordan later accomplished the same feat in the 800.
One of the more exciting races was the men's 400-meter run, in which Dedrick Tillerson came from behind to win. In a photo finish, Tillerson inched past ISU's Damon Harper by .02 seconds. Tillerson's time of 50.17 was a season best by over a second.
In the field, Purdue finished one-two in the long jump with John Lambert edging teammate Kern Woods by a quarter inch. Lambert finished with a career best 22-4 1/2 (6.82), while Woods followed at 22-4 1/4 (6.81). John Porter won the pole vault competition with a height of 15-7 (4.75), and teammate Brian LaGuire placed third with a season best leap of 14-7 1/4 (4.45). Newcomer Brian Hoying won the high jump title, reaching a maximum height of 6-7 1/2 (2.02).
To finish off the night, the Purdue women won the 4x400 relay in 3:58.40, while the men came across second in 3:22.36.
Purdue splits into two separate camps for next weekend's competitions. Most of the team will be traveling to Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Invitational, while a handful will travel to Lincoln, Neb., for the Husker Invitational.