May 1, 2004
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Purdue track and field program received a split in its annual outdoor meet with the Indiana Hoosiers. The Boilermaker women defeated IU, 94-92; however, their male counterparts fell to 12th-ranked Indiana, 108-76.
The track and field split Saturday keeps the Titan Series standings even, with each school earning 8.5 points. Indiana and Purdue will meet on the golf course and baseball and softball diamonds within the next few in order to decide the 2003-04 Titan Series Championship.
The women's team was led by its throwing corps, which collected 30 of the teams 94 points. The Boilermakers finished one-two in the hammer and javelin and one-three in the discus and shot put.
Freshman Astin Steward proved to be the most versatile of the throwers, scoring a first-place effort of 154 feet, 8 inches (47.14 meters) in the discus, a second-place launch in the hammer (166-9; 50.83) and a third-place push in the shot put (42-11; 13.08).
Courtney Magnuson placed ahead of Steward in the hammer throw with a career-best heave of 198-3 (60.44), while Tiffany Britten exited with top honors in the shot put with a season-best push of 48-11 1/2 (14.92). Magnuson's effort is ranked as the second best in the conference this season, behind Ohio State's Keturah Lofton (60.97).
Lindsay Blaine, the conference's top javelin thrower, and Angela Anoliefoh easily snapped up eight points in their premier event. Blaine won the competition with a mark of 156-3 (47.62) and Anoliefoh's top throw landed at the 128-10 mark (39.27).
Pole vaulters Jocelyn Lindsay and Megan Darraugh also had no problems with the Hoosiers, winning the top two places. Lindsay pushed through the inclement conditions in Bloomington to finish at a top height of 12-3 1/2 (3.75) and Darraugh finished at 11-9 3/4 (3.60).
The women scored a number of victories on the track, as well. T'Nita Waters won the 100-meter dash in a season-best time of 12.00 seconds; Kelly Van Abeele posted a season best of 2:12.03 in the 800 and Amber Ferner won the 3,000-meter run in 9:36.36.
Purdue also received a one-two punch from Kara Lahey and Kaleena Cappel in the 1,500. Lahey crossed first with a season-best mark of 4:35.87 and Cappel followed at 4:38.81. The Boilermakers closed the track portion of the meet, winning the 4x100 relay in 46.44.
The men's team was not as fortunate on the track as they dropped every race except the 3,000-meter run, which was won by David Rae in 8:30.72.
In the field, Purdue had no problem putting away its competition in the high jump, hammer and shot put, as it swept the top two places. Shaun Guice and Derek Watkins tied for the top height in the high jump, as both reached a max of 6-10 3/4 (2.10).
In the throws, J.P. Smolenski led the hammer field with his season best launch of 206-10 (63.05), with Keith McBride close behind at 206-4 (62.90). Nedzad Mulabegovic came back strong in the shot put, winning the competition with a top effort of 63-8 1/4 (19.41); Mulabegovic's mark is ranked second in the conference behind Ohio State's Dan Taylor. Scott Hecht placed behind his teammate, finishing with a top throw of 58-11 1/2 (17.97).
In addition to winning the shot put, Mulabegovic managed to join Hecht in a elite group, as the native Croatian recorded a regional qualifying mark in the discus of 173-1 (52.76). Currently, three of the four throwing events (hammer, discus and shot put) will have at least two Boilermakers competing in them when the NCAA Mideast Regionals commence at LSU May 28 and 29.
Before the Boilermakers can get to LSU they still have two more meets to run through. Next weekend, select Boilermakers will return to Bloomington for the Billy Hayes Invitational and on the weekend of May 14, Purdue will play host to the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships.