Feb. 15, 2003
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Purdue track and field teams completed the weekend's competition at the Armory Collegiate Invitational on Saturday in Manhattan, N.Y. The No. 9 nationally ranked men finished first, winning the Championship division, while the women finished sixth of 14 teams.
"The team was just amazing today," said Purdue head coach Lissa Olson. "They did a wonderful job and really pulled through to compete well against some of the best teams in the nation this weekend. I really feel like this weekend was a catalyst and a springboard to take us to Big Ten's in two weeks. It was a very exciting meet.
"We got a lot of points out of our throws this weekend, which is a great thing. For the women, there were numerous good performances and just about everyone is coming home with a PR time. Both teams are getting a great confidence boost into the later part of the season with this weekend's performance."
The men's team win is the first-ever for the Purdue program. En route to their Championship division title, the men knocked off defending NCAA national champion and current No. 3 LSU, No. 2 South Carolina and No. 12 Tennessee. The victory comes only four days after the Boilermakers earned their first national Top-10 ranking in the history of the program.
In action on Friday, junior Tiffany Britten finished 17th in the 20-lb. weight throw with a toss of 15.92 meters (52' 2.75"). Britten followed that performance up with an eighth-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 14.12 meters (46' 4") for an NCAA provisional cut mark.
Other action for the women included Ragina Harvey's NCAA provisional time of 56.42 in the 400 meter dash and Angela Anoliefoh and Laura Stier's performances in the high jump. Anoliefoh tallied a jump of 1.70 meters (5' 7") for third place and Stier jumped 1.65 meters (5' 5") to tie for fifth. The distance medley relay team finished seventh with a time of 11:58.86.
For the men on the first day, juniors Kenneth Baxter and Jacques Reeves both qualified for the finals in the 200 meter dash and the throwers turned in some great performances for even more points. Junior Scott Hecht won the 35-lb. weight throw with a toss of 19.70 meters (64' 7.75"). Junior Keith McBride finished third and sophomore Igor Kirin was fourth. Sophomore J.P. Smolinski finsihed sixth.
The distance medley relay team of Robert Heise, Jon Hoggat, Kyle Orender and Dedrick Tillerson finished fourth with a time of 10:03.64 and sophomore Nedzad Mulabegovic won the shot put with a toss of 18.99 meters (62' 3.75").
In day two action, the Old Gold and Black returned to the oval with a first-place hold on the men's side and a fifth-place spot for the women.
The women began the day with freshman Laura Farley finishing second in the mile with a time of 4:57.71 and an NCAA provisional time. Junior Kim Jordan tallied a seventh-place finish in her first outing of the year in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:12.28.
For the men, Baxter finished second in the 60 meter dash with an NCAA automatic qualifying time, a Purdue varsity record and a lifetime PR in 6.70. He followed that finish up with a win in the 200 meter dash with an NCAA automatic time of 20.85 to regain his place as the fastest man in the nation at the NCAA level.
Also in the in the 60 meter dash, Reeves finished sixth with a time of 6.76, while finishing fourth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.27.
Heise was 13th in the men's mile race with a time of 4:25.46, while Hoggat ran a time of 1:54.79 in the 800 meter run. In the 3,000 meter race, Orender finished fourth with a time of 8:16.76.
In the 60-meter high hurdles, senior Prentice Stovall finished second with a time of 7.99, as he is now the second-fastest man in the country at the NCAA level.
Senior Shaun Guice regained the top spot in the nation in the men's high jump with a jump of 2.19 meters (7' 2.25"). Sophomore Derek Watkins finished fourth with a jump of 2.06 meters (6' 9"). On the pole vault track, senior Hence "Pooh" Williams finished fifth with a jump of 5.0 meters (16' 4.75").
The Boilermakers will return to the oval on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 9 a.m., in Lambert Fieldhouse when they host the Boilermaker Invitational. They will follow that meet up with the Big Ten Championships the following weekend.