Feb. 12, 2005
AMES, Iowa - Sophomore Ricky Pinkney recorded an NCAA provisional mark of 7.84 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles Saturday at the Iowa State Track & Field Classic. His time also doubled as a personal record.
A transfer from Florida A&M, Pinkney finished the race tied for fifth with Nebraska's Courtney Jones. Antwon Hicks of Ole Miss won the race in 7.65, beating Florida's Josh Walker, who finished in 7.69.
"One of the reasons why Ricky came to Purdue was to become a better hurdler," said head coach Jack Warner. "He also wanted the better academic and competitive environments provided by the Big Ten. The way he's running, he has a shot to score or even win at the conference championships."
Pinkey's performance was one of a handful of bright spots for Purdue, as they faced the best of the Pac-10, Big 12 and SEC conferences. Despite the lack of wins, Warner thinks this large-scale meet was beneficial to both teams.
"I think it was a good experience for them to compete against teams from outside their conference," said Warner. "For a lot of our athletes, this was their first time competing at a meet of this magnitude, and they all witnessed what they have to do to reach the next level."
Senior Kyle Orender finished strong in the 3,000-meter run, completing the course in 8:08.48. His fifth place mark missed the NCAA provisional standard and school record by approximately two seconds. Donnie Fellows holds the school record of 8:06.39, and the NCAA `B' mark is set at 8:06.30.
Ray Williams fell just short of the NCAA provisional standard in the 400-meter run. Williams finished the race with a personal best of 47.67 seconds, but needed to cross the line in 47.65 or under to attain NCAA consideration.
For the women's team, Warner was satisfied with his 4x400-meter team of Gina Harvey, Stephanie Stromp, Ashley Kemp and Angela Anoliefoh, which finished with a season-best time of 3:50.15.
In the field, LaTonya Fryerson recorded a personal best in the shot put with her push of 14.13 meters (46-4 1/4).
Purdue returns home to Lambert Fieldhouse Saturday, Feb. 19 for the Boilermaker Invitational, which kicks off at 4 p.m. The following weekend, Lambert will play host to the Big Ten Men's Indoor Championships, taking place Feb 26. and 27.