May 13, 2005
COLUMBUS, OHIO - Senior John Paul Smolenski finished his Big Ten career in style, winning the hammer throw championship with an effort of 63.35 meters (207 feet - 10 inches). This is Smolenski's first conference title and his second medal; Smolenski was third in the hammer at the 2003 conference meet.
"I came expecting to win, but once you enter that circle there's no sure thing," said Smolenski. "The winning hasn't sunk in yet, but it's a tremendous honor to win a title in a great power conference."
"It's always tough to arrive here ranked No. 1; I think he came in with some nerves, but was able to stay in control," said throws coach John Zera. "He had a real strong first throw, and thankfully that was good enough to win, which was his top priority."
Zera also said it was nice to see a Boilermaker win the hammer throw for the second straight year. Purdue has won four hammer throw titles in the last seven years, including two by Chris Brown in 1998 and 2001, and one by Keith McBride in 2003. Brown (222-03), Smolenski (221-03) and McBride (220-08) rank one, two and three on Purdue's all-time top performance list.
Senior Igor Kirin, who ranks fifth on that list at 205-03, placed seventh Friday at 55.49 (182-01), giving him the first points of his Outdoor Big Ten career.
"I'm glad with the year Igor has had," said Zera. "He's been battling through an injury all season, so it was nice to see him score at his last Big Ten Championships."
Finishing behind Smolenski was Iowa senior Chris Voller, who posted a top throw of 62.80 (206-00). Voller, Smolenski and Ohio State's Bryan Duby were the only throwers to register a distance above 60 meters.
Next on Smolenski's and Kirin's agenda is the NCAA Mideast Regional championships, which begin May 27 in Bloomington, Ind. Smolenski acknowledges he needs some work on his delivery, but likes his chances for advancing to the national championships.
"I think today's throw could also win at regionals, and maybe place me among the top five at nationals," said Smolenski. "There's not much difference between myself and the other elite throwers in the country, but I just need to work on my speed, because that separates the good from the great. Getting to nationals is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I want to put myself in a position to win or at least receive a medal."
For all the success the men had in the hammer, it could not be duplicated on the women's side. Astin Steward just missed the finals with a throw in the 53.00 meter (175-04) range, while Courtney Magnuson fouled out. Sophomore Amandar Bodnar recorded a season-best throw of 47.24 (155-00) but it was not far enough to place her in the final flight.
The women's teams lone points Friday were scored by pole vaulter Jocelyn Lindsay, who reached a fourth-place height of 3.70 meters (12-1.50). Megan Darraugh, last year's runner up in the pole vault, failed to record a height.
Angela Anoliefoh and Lindsay Singleton are sixth and tenth through four events in the heptahtlon. Anoliefoh has 3,083 points after recording season bests in the 100 hurdles (15.19), high jump (1.68; 5-6) and 200-meter dash (25.34). Singleton's point total stands at 2,989 and is only 15 points out of eighth place.
Saturday's heptahtlon events are the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run. Kyle Orender placed sixth in the 10K with a time of 30:34.24, giving Purdue 15 points during the first day of competition. The Boilermakers enter day two a point ahead of Minnesota for second and seven points behind Wisconsin for first.
The race was extremely tight for 13 laps, with Orender part of the lead pack along with Joel Moceri of Penn State, Dan Glaz of Ohio State, Jason Bill of Illinois abd Stephen Haas of Indiana. However, with about eight laps left the Wisconsin trio of Simon Bairu, Tim Nelson and Antony Ford made their move and distanced themselves from the 21-man field. Also playing catch up were Antonio Vega of Minnesota and Trent Hoerr of Illinois; while Moceri, Glaz and the other early leaders faded to the back.
With about five laps left, Bairu and Nelson made it a two-man race. Bairu led the last quarter of the race until the final homestretch when Nelson made a pass to the outside and won 30:22.31 to 30:22.51. Rounding out the top five were Vega, Hoerr and Ford, whom Orender finished .12 seconds behind.
The women's 10K also was dominated by the Badgers, but the finish was not as thrilling. Katrina Rundhaug of Wisconsin won convincingly with a new stadium record of 35:26.85, beating runner-up Michelle Rafferty of Michigan State by 20 seconds. Rundhaug's teammates Michelle Lilienthal and Linsey Blaisdell captured the third and fourth spots.
Purdue's Lindsay Zinn was seventh in 36:12.53, finishing in between Michigan's Sarah Pizzo and Chelsea Loomis. Zinn had been as far back as ninth with a handful of laps remaining, but made a few passes towards the end to grab a pair of points for the Boilermakers' scoring effort.
Through three scored events, Purdue's women stand tied for seventh with Illinois at six points. Wisconsin leads with 24 points, followed by Penn State (19.50) and Michigan State (18). Defending champion Michigan is in sixth with 11 points.
Day two of the Big Ten Championships begins at 9:30 a.m. (EST) with the running of the men's decathlon 110-meter hurdles.