March 13, 2004
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Purdue sent four competitors to the NCAA Indoor Championships, and all are returning as All-Americans. The Boilermakers have not claimed four All-Americans at an indoor meet since 1978, when the distance medley relay team of John Hester, Joe Menzyk, Tim Smith and Ken Sumbry finished among the top-eight in the country.
The five individual All-America titles claimed by the 2004 Boilermakers are a team record. Kenneth Baxter (200-meter dash), Keith McBride (weight throw) and Nedzad Mulabegovic (shot put) all received one All-America citation, while Scott Hecht earned two (shot put and weight throw).
Purdue's previous best individual showing was in 1998, when Randy Miller (pole vault), Michael Turner (triple jump) and Myron McClure (triple jump) all received the same honor.
"Everyone gave a tremendous effort this weekend," said head coach Lissa Olson. "Their performances speak volumes about their confidence, competitiveness and work effort. We have sent more athletes to previous NCAA's, but there are always some highs and some lows; so for these guys to put their best effort foward on both days, shows how focused and ready they were for this competition. Their goal was to finish among the top 10, and they've done more than enough to exceed that expectation."
A day after Baxter, Hecht and Mulabegovic were designated All-Americans in their respective events, McBride added his name to the list Saturday afternoon, finishing second in the weight throw with an effort of 71-2 3/4. McBride now has two All-America certificates, earning his first at last year's NCAA Outdoor National Championships in the hammer throw.
Hecht was able to collect his second All-America citation in as many days, placing fifth with a top distance of 69- 3/4. The native of Naperville, Ill., is the first Boilermaker to achieve indoor All-America status in more than one event at a national championship meet.
McBride and Hecht are only the second and third Boilermakers to become All-Americans in the weight throw, joining Chris Brown (2000). Hecht and Mulabegovic made history Friday by becoming the first Purdue All-Americans in the shot put.
Hecht's and McBride's conference rival Dan Taylor won the national championship in the weight throw with his launch of 77-7 1/2, just a day removed from winning the shot put title. UCLA's Dan Ames placed third in the weight throw at 71-2 1/2 and Virginia Tech's Spyridon Jullien took fourth at 69-8.
The Boilermakers completed their stay at the University of Arkansas with 25 points, giving them a program-best sixth-place finish. LSU won the national championship with 44.5 points, while Arkansas and Florida tied for second at 38 points. Texas took fourth place with 31 points, and Michigan edged Purdue for fifth with 28 points.
Purdue's previous best indoor finish was 17th, which it achieved last year. The Boilermakers have garnered a pair of top 10 showings at outdoor's, placing sixth in 1954 and 10th in 1972.