April 2, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - On the track and in the field, the Boilermakers dominated their home season opener, the Mike Poehlein Invitational. Purdue recorded 14 victories Saturday, beating several regional teams, including Louisville, Notre Dame, Marquette.
Three of Purdue's wins came in the throws, where Courtney Magnuson (hammer), J.P. Smolenski (hammer) and Lindsey Blaine (javelin) all recorded victories with NCAA regional qualifying marks in their respective events. Magnuson finished with a top distance of 59.94 meters (196 feet-8 inches), establishing a new season best, while sophomore Astin Steward was third with a launch of 52.58 (172-06). Steward also had a solid outing in the discus, finishing with a runner-up effort of 41.38 (135-9).
In the men's hammer, Smolenski recorded a new personal record of 67.47 (221-4), beating his previous best by one inch, but was 13 inches short of topping Chris Brown's school record of 222-3. Igor Kirin was second in the hammer with a throw of 56.21 (184-05).
Purdue captured the top three positions in the women's javelin, led by Blaine's season-best toss of 46.63 (153-00). Kara Patterson, last week's runner-up in the javelin at the Clemson Relays, was second again with her regional qualifying launch of 44.96 (147-06). Senior Angela Anoliefoh was third with a distance of 32.76 (107-06).
Elsewhere in the field, Purdue captured wins in four of six jumps, sweeping the high jump as well as the men's long jump and women's triple jump. Kern Woods was the winner of the long jump with a top distance of 7.10 (23-3.5) and Leah Kincaid was victorious in the triple jump at 11.62 (38-1.5). High jump winners were Derek Watkins (2.00; 6-6.75) and Lindsey Singleton (1.70; 5-7).
Purdue extended its dominance onto the track in both sprints and distances. LaShauna Harris led the team with two individual victories in the 100-meter dash (12.00) and 100-meter hurdles (13.82), and was also the runner-up in the 200 at 24.72. Harris picked up another second-place showing with the 4x100-meter relay team of Kincaid, Gina Harvey and Ina Jackson, posting a time of 47.54.
In the men's sprints, wins were scored by Alfred Woods in the 100 at 10.75 and by Brian Kaluf in the 400-meter hurdles, who registered a mark of 54.13. Newcomer Keith Hopkins was a second-place finisher in both hurdles events, completing the 400 course in 54.30 and the 110-meter course in 14.28.
The Boilermakers won three of four distance races, as Kyle Orender, David Rae and Amber Ferner all crossed first. Oredner was the winner of the 5K with a time of 14:36.34, while Rae and Ferner swept the 3,000 and 2,000-meter steeplechase races. Rae finished his race in 9:13.47 and Ferner's winning time was marked at 7:18.10. Lindsay Zinn was the runner-up in the women's 5,000-meter run at 17:22.00.
Purdue returns to the road next weekend for Cal-Berkeley's Brutus Hamilton Invitational on April 8-9, and then move on to the Indiana State Invitational on April 15 and 16. The Boilermakers' next home meet on April 23, the Indiana Intercollegiates, will also serve as their home season finale.