Jan. 22, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Nedzad Mulabegovic became Purdue's first NCAA automatic qualifier this season after launching the shot put 19.60 meters (64-3 3/4 inches) Saturday afternoon at the Indiana/Ohio State Triangular.
The 2004 Olympian topped the NCAA standard by .30 meters, and just missed beating his varsity record of 19.64; a mark recorded at last year's dual with Indiana State. The NCAA Indoor Championships are being hosted again this year by the Arkansas Razorbacks on March 12 and 13.
"Ned's performance was a pleasant surprise," said head coach Jack Warner. "Even though he just got off the plane from Croatia a few days ago, he was completely focused and ready to go."
In addition to Mulabegovic's performance, the Boilermakers collected wins from Kyle Orender in the mile (4:16.80) and Derek Watkins in the high jump (2.07; 6-9 1/2). Purdue also nabbed second-place finishes from Alfred Woods in the 200 (22.29), David Rae in the 3,000 (8:23.40) and Ricky Pinkney in the 60 hurdles (8.09).
Watkins tied with Ohio State's Pat Woods and Marios Iacovou, but won because of fewer misses. Warned credited his senior high jumper for being able to stay calm through the competition and finish most of his attempts.
Purdue's 4x400-meter relay team finished a close second to Indiana, losing 3:15.07 to 3:15.85. The relay marked the debut of three football players: Zach Logan, Dorien Bryant and Ray Williams.
"The football players were in the race the entire time," said Warner. "They only have two weeks under their belt and will only going to get better. They'll also make our other guys work harder too."
The men's team finished with 92 points, giving them second place at the annual triangular. Their total placed them between third-ranked IU (128 points) and Ohio State (87 points).
The lady Boilermakers also scored 92 points, but it was not enough to lift them past their conference rivals. Indiana completed the Hoosier sweep with 128 points, while OSU finished as the runner-up with 101 points.
"It was real nice to beat Ohio State, but I knew it would be tough to beat IU at home," said Warner, who was an assistant coach at OSU for 12 years prior to arriving at Purdue. "I'm convinced our men are going to be a lot better this season at Big Ten's, but our ladies need to learn how to compete."
Purdue's women's team was led by its pole vault tandem of Megan Darraugh and Jocelyn Lindsay, who both finished with a top height of 3.65 (11-11 3/4). The women also had a nice showing from its shot put crew, which captured the first, third and fourth places.
Sheena James won the shot put title with a season best effort of 14.71 (48-3 1/4), beating OSU's Shelaine Larson by .25 meters. Anderson transfer LaTonya Fryerson was third with a distance of 13.50 (44-3 1/2), and Astin Steward was fourth with a push of 12.44 (40-9 3/4).
Purdue did not register much success on the track, as its highest finish was a second-place showing by Corrie Whisner in mile (5:08.13). 2004 All-American Amber Ferner was third in the 3,000-meter run, finishing behind a pair of Hoosiers in 10:04.07.
Lindsay Singleton scored second place points in the high jump, reaching a top height of 1.65 (5-5).
Both Purdue squads remain on the road next weekend as they compete against several SEC clubs at the University of Kentucky-based Rod McCravy Invitational on Jan. 28 and 29. The Boilermakers return home to Lambert Fieldhouse to play host to the Gene Edmonds Cup on Feb. 5.