Feb. 26, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Senior Nedzad Mulabegovic celebrated winning his second Big Ten conference gold medal in the shot put Saturday, finishing first in front of a pro-Boilermaker crowd at Lambert Fieldhouse. Mulabegovic, who also won this title as a freshman in 2002, is Purdue's first indoor conference champion since 2003, when Kenneth Baxter (200), Pooh Williams (pole vault) and Prentice Stovall (60) all were victorious.
Mulabegovic, a native of Zagreb, Croatia, posted an NCAA automatic qualifying distance of 19.63 meters (64 feet-5 inches), beating the rest of the field by more than a whole meter (4 feet - 2.5 inches). Joe Thomas of Wisconsin was the runner-up with a distance of 18.90 meters (62-.25) and Indiana's Ryan Ketchum was third at 18.35 meters (60-2.50).
"I was 99-percent sure that I was going to win today, so really this meet was about getting ready for NCAA's," said Mulabegovic. "I think going into my freshman Big Ten meet I was ranked third, so that title was a bit more unexpected. But both titles are great, as I always want to win."
Purdue's second best performance of the day was Rickey Pinkney's winning time of 7.82 seconds in the semifinals of the 60-meter hurdles, tying his varsity record.
The sophomore transfer from Florida A&M nipped Indiana's Stephanos Ioannou to the finish line by .01 seconds in the prelims, 7.93 to 7.94, then dominated the semis, winning by .11 seconds over Michigan's Jeff Porter.
Should Pinkney duplicate his performance during Sunday's finals, he will become the first Boilermaker champion in the hurdles since Rod Woodson in 1987. Woodson was a four-time Big Ten indoor high hurdle champion, winning consecutive titles from 1984-1987.
Senior Kern Woods also will be joining Pinkney in the finals after placing fourth in the semis with a 8.02. Freshman Keith Hopkins got off to a great start, finishing fourth in prelims (8.01), but dropped in the semis (8.09) to place tenth. Only the top eight finishers advance to the finals of the 60-hurdles.
Also advancing to tomorrow's finals are Dorien Bryant in the 200 (21.92) and Zach Logan and Ray Williams in the 400. Logan and Williams placed sixth and seventh with times of 48.37 and 48.50. Terrell Thompson runs again Sunday in the 600, after finishing 12th in prelims with a time of 1:20.96.
The Boilermakers stand in fifth place with 16 points through five events. In addition to Mulabegovic's 10 points, the team also received two from Kern Woods in the long jump (7.10; 23-3.50) and three from Kyle Orender (8:13.24) in the 3,000-meter run. The distance medley relay team of Zach Wilder, Jon Hoggatt, Brian Kaluf and Greg Neiman score one point with its eighth-place time of 10:13.55.
A few records were broken Saturday. Minnesota's Aaron Buzard recorded a new Lambert Fieldhouse record in the 600-meter dash with a mark of 1:18.05, breaking the three-year-old record of 1:18.49, set by Boilermaker Matt Hartman in February of 2002.
Michigan's Nick Willis broke his own Big Ten and the Lambert record in the 3,000, with his NCAA automatic qualifying time of 7:55.94. Willis' old record of 7:57.10 was posted last season at Michigan, and the previous fieldhouse record of 8:04.11 was recorded back in 1978 by Wisconsin's Steve Lacey.
To close the night, Michigan broke its own Lambert Fieldhouse record in the distance medley relay, completing the course in 9:40.05. The Wolverines old record of 9:55.81 was registered in February of 1996.
Despite some record-breaking performances, the Wolverines find themselves tied for third with instate rival Michigan State with 25 points. Defending champion Wisconsin leads with 53.5 points and Indiana is second with 26.5 points. Standing behind Purdue are Illinois (14), Iowa and Penn State (11), Minnesota (9) and Ohio State (4).
Business resumes at Lambert Fieldhouse Sunday at 10:20 a.m. with the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles. Ben Roland of Wisconsin leads the 17-man field with 3,135 points through four events. Minnesota's Travis Brandstatter is second with 3,074 points.
Winner's Quotes
Nedzad Mulabegovic (Purdue), Shot Put
On his goals for the meet...
"I wanted to throw over 64 feet today, but beyond that I just wanted to win"
On his expectations for the meet...
"It's tough to get fired up for a meet when you know you don't have much competition. I was 99% sure that I was going to win today, so really it was just about getting ready for NCAA's."
On comparing this title to his first...
"I think going into my freshman Big Ten meet I was ranked third, so that title was a bit more unexpected. Both titles are great, I always want to win."
Aarik Wilson (Indiana), Long Jump
Thoughts on winning the long jump title...
"I came here expecting to win. This is my second title and I think it means more than the first. I really jumped well today."
On his outlook for the NCAA championships...
"I need to get my jumps down better before NCAA's. They're not where they need to be for me to compete with those guys."
Nick Willis (Michigan), 3,000-meter
On winning his third title in this event...
"This title was just as difficult to win as the other two were. But what's really important is giving my points to the team. This team we have is amazing, and I wanted to do all I could to help us win."
On breaking the Big Ten and Lambert Fieldhouse records...
"To be honest, the records don't mean that much to me. I broke the record my freshman year, and I didn't even know about it at the time."
On preparing for the NCAA championships...
"Right now I'm ranked third nationally in the mile, and first in the 3,000. I've never won an NCAA title, and it's something I'd love to do. But I'm not trying to get too far ahead of myself. Right now I just want to see this team win a title."
Brad Gebauer (Michigan State), Pole Vault
On his second title, his first indoors...
"Both of my titles have been a little crazy. Last year I pulled my hamstring, and today in practice I broke a pole. That's a pretty scary thing to have happen; it's certainly not how you want to start your day. But overall it was a good day."
On the upcoming NCAA championship...
"I'd like to spend the next few weeks moving up the rankings a bit. Ideally I'd like to be in the top 10 nationally before NCAA's. I try not to put too much pressure on myself to win at NCAA's. I'm only a sophomore, and I feel that if I put too much pressure on myself to win, I'm setting myself up for failure."
Sebastien Lounis (Michigan), Distance Medley Relay Team
On the chemistry of their team...
"This is an amazing team we've got. This is the first year that we've competed together, and it's gone really well."
On his overall performance...
"This is the only event that I'm competing in here, so the win was very special to me. I just wanted to run a solid race and let these guys do what they do best."
On the potential for a team title...
"If we win a team title I think we'll probably bring down the building. We may even rename it in our honor. Our event is really just a stepping stone to a team title. We just wanted to perform solidly and get the team as many points as possible."