April 22, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Several of Purdue's student athletes got off to a good start Thursday during the first day of competition at the Penn and Drake Relays. Thrower Tiffany Britten claimed the Boilermakers' highest finish, placing second in the Penn Relays' shot put.
Britten finished behind Lindsay Neuberger of Wake Forest, who won the title with a launch of 49 feet, 6 1/2 inches (15.10 meters). Britten's best throw landed at the 48-4 1/2 mark (14.74m), which is a season best.
Despite settling for the silver medal, Britten did beat two of her Big Ten rivals: Andrea Della Rosa of Indiana and Ashley Eckel of Michigan. Dalla Rosa placed fifth at 47-5 1/4, while Eckel placed 10th with a mark of 45-4 1/4.
On the Drake Relays' track in Des Moines, Iowa, Lindsay Zinn recorded a season best in the 5,000 meter run, finishing the course in 16 minutes, 43.48 seconds. Zinn finished third in the 19-woman field, placing behind by Vanderbilt's Erika Scneble and unattached competitor Liz Guerrini.
"Lindsay ran unbelievably well," said distance coach Mike Poehlein. "She is starting to show some real signs of greatness, which we haven't seen since her freshman year."
Zinn missed the entire 2003 season due to injury, and has worked her way back to the top of the leaderboard through the 2004 indoor and outdoor campaigns.
Elsewhere on the track, Kyle Orender placed 11th in the 5,000 with a season best time of 14:46.31 and the quartet of Kara Lahey, Amber Ferner, Kaleena Cappel and Christan Bahler took sixth in the 4x1,600 meter relay, crossing the finish line in 20:26.05.
Lahey's split time in the relay was clocked at 4:53.00, which, according to Poehlein is one of the fastest mile times recorded by a female Purdue athlete in nearly five years.
Beginning Friday, Purdue's student-athletes will be engaged in three track and field meets. In addition to continuing their competitions at Drake and Penn, the Boilermakers will play host to the Big Ten Preview Invitational. The two-day meet begins at 3 p.m. at Rankin Track and Field.