June 10, 2004
AUSTIN, Texas - On the second day of the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, three Boilermakers kept their dreams of a national title alive with performances good enough to qualify for event finals later in the weekend. The championships are being held at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas.
Senior Keith McBride was second overall in the men's hammer, senior Shaun Guice tied 13 others for the top mark in the men's high jump, and junior Amber Ferner placed 11th in the women's 3000 steeplechase to earn spots in the finals. The finals for all three events are scheduled for Saturday.
For complete schedules and results, please go to the official site of the championships.
Women's Hammer
Courtney Magnuson (Jr., Palatine, Ill.) missed the cut in the women's hammer, throwing a distance of 54.89m (180-01). Her distance was good for 24th in the field, missing the finals qualification of the top 12 throwers by just over 17 feet (60.14m, 197-04). Magnuson's top throw of the 2004 season was 60.44m, done at Indiana on May 1. The top throw of the day at the championships was 65.68m (215-06) by Florida's Candace Scott.
Men's Hammer
Keith McBride (Sr., Valparaiso, Ind.) was the pride of the Purdue throwers on Thursday, unleashing a toss of 67.27m (220-08) on his third attempt. That distance was good enough for second in the field and a place in the hammer finals on Saturday afternoon. McBride's throw bested his top throw of the 2004 season by over two meters. His previous top effort was 65.12m at the Texas Relays, also held at the University of Texas. McBride fell just seven inches shy of the top throw of the day, a throw of 67.43m (221-03) by Lucas MacKay of Georgia.
Unable to advance to the finals for the Boilermakers were Scott Hecht (Sr., Naperville, Ill.) and John Paul Smolenski (Jr., New Hyde Park, N.Y.).
Smolenski's best effort of the day was a throw of 60.80m (199-06), missing the cutoff distance for 12th place by nearly two meters. Smolenski entered the championships with Purdue's longest throw of the season, a toss of 67.45m at the Billy Hayes Invitational on May 7. His throw of 60.80m at the championships ranked 19th in the preliminary field.
Hecht made only one successful throw, fouling on his second and third attempts. His first effort of 58.95m (193-05) placed 25th in the preliminaries and was almost four meters shy of his season-best throw of 62.84m at the Penn Relays (April 23-24).
Men's High Jump
Shaun Guice (Sr., Lima, Ohio) made the most of his third attempt at 2.17m (7-01.50), clearing the height to join 13 others in the finals field of the high jump. Guice cleared the heights of 2.06, 2.10 and 2.14 on his first attempts. Of the 14 jumpers that advanced to Saturday evening's finals, six did not miss an attempt an any height. Guice's top jump of the 2004 season was 2.20m at the Purdue Invitational on March 26-27.
Women's 3000 Steeplechase
Amber Ferner (Jr., West Lafayette, Ind.) placed sixth in Heat Two, earning a place in the finals with a time of 10:21.80 in the steeplechase. Ferner finished six seconds off the lead pace in her heat and 16 behind the top finisher overall, Briana Shook of Toledo (10:05.18). The 2004 Big Ten champion will compete in Saturday evenings finals. Ferner's top time in the 3000 steeplechase was recorded at the Big Ten Championships in West Lafayette, a time of 10:12.26.
Men's 3000 Steeplechase
A last-minute national qualifier, David Rae (Jr., Naperville, Ill.) had a tough race in the preliminaries, recording a 24th-place 9:27.30, 25 seconds off the final finals qualifying time and 39 seconds off his pace at the Big Ten Championships. The top time in Thursday's prelims was put in by Ohio State's Aaron Fisher, the 2004 Big Ten champion, with a mark of 8:46.99.
From Wednesday's Action...
Women's Javelin
Lindsay Blaine (Fr., Lyle, Wash.) missed an advancement to the finals when her throw of 44.69m (146-07) was bested by the third attempts from Texas A&M's Katy Cullen and Providence's Brooke Freeburg. Blaine's 14th-place throw missed her season best by nearly five meters, an effort of 49.39m at the Texas Relays on April 1-3. The top performance of the prelims was by Inga Stasiulionyte of Southern Cal, who produced a throw of 54.20m (177-10).
Shown under each event are the top finisher, the final spot to earn a berth in the eventfinals, and all Purdue finishers. Boilermakers finishing outside of finals qualifying arelisted below separation line.
Event 39 Women Hammer Throw (top 12 advance to finals) Name Year School Prelims========================================================================== 1 Candice Scott JR Florida 65.68mq 215-06 65.68m PASS PASS 12 Holly Scherder SR Missouri 60.14mq 197-04 FOUL 60.14m 57.33m-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 Courtney Magnuson JR Purdue 54.89m 180-01 54.47m 53.17m 54.89m
Event 19 Men Hammer Throw (top 12 advance to finals) Name Year School Prelims========================================================================== 1 Lucais MacKay SR Georgia 67.43mq 221-03 FOUL 65.24m 67.43m 2 Keith McBride SR Purdue 67.27mq 220-08 64.98m 64.55m 67.27m 12 Dan Ames SR UCLA 62.76mq 205-11 61.78m 62.76m FOUL-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 John Paul Smolenski JR Purdue 60.80m 199-06 60.21m FOUL 60.80m 25 Scott Hecht SR Purdue 58.95m 193-05 58.95m FOUL FOUL
Event 13 Men High Jump Name Year School Prelims========================================================================== *1 Shaun Guice SR Purdue 2.17mq 7-01.50 2.06 2.10 2.14 2.17 O O O XXO* note: 13 others tied at 2.17m (7-01.50)
Event 26 Women 3000 Meter Steeplechase Name Year School Prelims================================================================ 1 Briana Shook SR Toledo 10:05.18Q 11 Amber Ferner JR Purdue 10:21.80q
Event 6 Men 3000 Meter Steeplechase Name Year School Prelims================================================================ 1 Aaron Fisher JR Ohio State 8:46.99Q 14 Daniel Parker SO Florida 9:02.23q---------------------------------------------------------------- 24 David Rae JR Purdue 9:27.30
WEDNESDAY ACTION
Event 40 Women Javelin Throw (top 12 advance to finals) Name Year School Prelims========================================================================== 1 Inga Stasiulionyte SR Southern California 54.20mq 177-10 54.20m PASS PASS 12 Katy Cullen SO Texas A&M 45.82mq 150-04 43.79m 41.12m 45.82m-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Lindsay Blaine FR Purdue 44.69m 146-07 44.54m 44.69m 44.37m