May 15, 2005
COLUMBUS, OHIO - Big Ten shot put champion Nedzad Mulabegovic could have stopped after his second throw, but like a true competitor, he kept working in an attempt to pass the 19.60-meter mark or even his school record of 20.31 meters.
Mulabegovic's winning throw was measured at 19.44 meters (63 feet - 9 1/2 inches), giving him his second shot put gold medal of the year, and his first outdoor gold since his freshman season of 2002. He was only one of two throwers to pass the 19-meter mark, along with Wisconsin's Joe Thomas, whose final throw was marked at 19.03 (62-5 1/4). Everyone else's throw in the 13-man field was a half-meter or more behind.
"I was hoping to get anywhere from 19.60 to 19.70 meters, but came in tired today after throwing the discus (Saturday)," said Mulabegovic. "My first throw wasn't bad, but I wasn't feeling my best at the time. I came in confident, and while the competition was good, I was hoping to see more guys throw past 19-meters."
Mulabegovic, who was the national indoor runner-up in the shot put this season, won't be attending this year's regional or national championships. A native of Zagreb, Croatian, Mulabegovic will head back to his homeland Tuesday and will begin training for the European season. This summer Mulabgovic is slated to compete in four championship meets: the European Cup in Sweden, Spain's Mediterranean Games, the World Championships in Finland and the World University Games in Turkey.
Mulabegovic said all these competitions will help him achieve his dream in making the 2008 Croatian Olympic Team, but this weekend's meet was mostly about having fun.
"This meet is all fun for Ned," said throws coach John Zera, who coached John Paul Smolenski to a gold medal in the hammer throw on Friday. "It was nice to see him rewarded with his first outdoor gold medal in the shot put. His goal was to place first and he was able to accomplish that."
Right before Mulabegovic clinched his gold medal, teammate Astin Steward was wrapping up a second-place showing in the discus. Steward entered finals in sixth place, but recorded back-to-back throws of 51.61 and 51.68 (169-07) to claim her first ever Big Ten medal. Minnesota freshman Liz Podominick was the winner with her launch of 52.20 (171-03).
"Astin got into a good rhythm during finals, which helped her finish so high," said Zera. "I always knew she was capable of throwing well at a high-pressure meet like this, and I think her performance today will take her a long way through regionals and nationals."
Steward and Zera spoke in between rounds and discussed their three rules for success: 1.) keep hands upright; 2.) go slow out of the back and 3.) attack in the release. Steward said following the third rule helped her attain the silver medal.
"I always knew I had it in me, but it was just a matter of going out there relaxed," said Steward. "I came in kind of intimidated by some of the girls, but now I feel more confident heading into regionals."
The NCAA Mideast regional meet, which will take place in two weeks at Indiana, is also where 110-meter hurdle runner-up Rickey Pinkney plans on making a statement.
"I feel good heading into regionals," said Pinkney, a transfer from Florida A&M. "I'm going to shake off this injury, so everybody be ready because Pinkney's back!"
The 60-meter hurdle champion at this year's indoor championships, Pinkney lost the 110 hurdle title to Wisconsin junior Paul Check, 14.15 to 14.16. Boilermaker teammate Keith Hopkins was fifth at 14.22.
Purdue record holder and All-American Kenneth Baxter closed his Big Ten career as a champion, winning the 200-meter dash in 20.98 seconds, nipping Indiana's David Neville (21.05) and Ohio State's Todd Dutch (21.06) at the finish line. Neville won last year's outdoor 200 champion, which also was Baxter's redshirt year.
"I got out to a real good start, which helped me hold them off towards the end," said Baxter, who was outdoor champion in the 200 at the 2003 meet. "I can't tell you enough how good it feels to leave as a Big Ten Champion. It can't get any better than this."
Baxter came within .01 seconds from leaving as a dual-gold medalist, but could not hold off Wisconsin's Demi Omole at the finish line; Omole won the race 10.35 to 10.36. Prior to his individual accomplishment's Baxter led the 4x100 team of Alfred Woods, Hopkins and Kern Woods to a fifth-place mark of 41.16. To close the meet, Baxter's 4x400 team of Kaluf, Hopkins and Tuggle placed seventh with a season best time of 3:17.40.
Purdue battled with Iowa for second place in the first heat, but Tuggle made a charge in the final turn to beat the Hawkeye's anchor by .23 seconds. Iowa's 4x400 time was clocked at 3:17.63, while Ohio State ran away with the heat in a time of 3:14.17. Illinois easily won the 4x400 title with a stadium-record 3:07.44.
The women's 4x100 also scored some points, as the team of Gina Harvey, LaShauna Harris, Ashley Kemp and Ina Jackson clocked a sixth-place mark of 46.58. Harris and Harvey earned points as individuals, with Harris recording a seventh-place time of 15.89 in the 100 hurdles and Harvey taking seventh in the 400 at 55.58. The women's 4x400 of Harvey, Jackson, Ashley Kemp and Angela Anoliefoh were ninth with a season best time of 3:45.62.
Scoring in the field for Purdue were Rayland Currie with a sixth-place triple jump of 14.70 (48-2 3/4) and Laura Stier, who tied for fifth in the high jump with Minnesota's Liz Roehrig and Iowa's Jenni Elbert. The three Big Ten competitors all earned a matching height of 1.70 (5-7).
Illinois won the women's team title with 135 points, ending Michigan's three-year reign at the outdoor championships. On the men's side Wisconsin won its second straight Triple Crown, earning a meet record 174 points at this weekend's meet. The Badgers also won this academic year's cross country and indoor championships.
Purdue's men finished fifth with 70 points, a one-place improvement from last season. The women's team scored a seventh-place total of 64.5 points, just 3.5 points short from beating Wisconsin for sixth.