April 29, 2005
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - In the biggest meet of her young collegiate career, freshman javelin thrower Kara Patterson handled herself like a tested veteran.
Patterson, competing at her first-ever Penn Relays, won the javelin championship with a launch of 51.83 meters (170 feet). Her mark, though just a bit short of her personal best (52.09), was good enough to top the throws of Lousiana Tech'a Brenda Grace-Hunt and teammate Lindsey Blaine, who placed third with a throw of 47.61 (164-6). Grace-Hunt, ranked second in the nation by Trackwire, finished a disappointing seventh at 45.90 (150-07). Sherbrooke's Dominique Bilodeu was the runner-up at 50.14 (164-06).
"I was really happy about the consistency of my throws," said Patterson. "I had an earlier throw of 50 (at Cal-Berkeley), so that is what I think is most positive. This is my first time since I'm just a freshman. It's fun to come here with sophomore Lindsey Blaine, who I have great camaraderie with. We totally support each other."
Senior Courtney Magnuson placed second in the hammer throw championship with a toss of 60.10 (197-02), which was just .34 meters short of her personal best (60.44). Magnuson finished only behind fourth-ranked Lorrie Smith of Colorado State (63.01; 206-8), but defeated three Big Ten Conference competitors: Ohio State's Shelaine Larson and Penn State's Jennifer Leatherman and Kate Johnson. Leatherman entered the weekend ranked as the 12th-ranked hammer thrower in the nation.
Also succeeding in the field was sophomore Astin Steward, who finished just a few centimeters short of winning the discus title. Steward placed third with a season-best and NCAA regional qualifying effort of 49.48 (162-04), coming in right behind winner Kelly Smoke of N.C. State (49.94; 163-10) and runner-up Brittany Reid of Coastal Carolina (49.61; 162-09).
On the track, David Rae and Lindsay Zinn placed among the top five in their respective races. Rae was fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking a time of 8:58.40, while Zinn was fourth in the 10,000-meter run with an NCAA provisional cut of 34:50.98.
Purdue resumes competition Saturday morning at 10 a.m. (EST) with Derek Watkins competing in the high jump. The Boilermaker's first running event is the men's 4x100-meter relay, which starts at 12:25 p.m.