By Katie Rippel
Staff Writer

It's getting warmer outside and that means it's time for the outdoor track and field season to begin. The Purdue women's track and field team will hold the Purdue Open this weekend at the Rankin Track and Field, located behind the Recreational Sports Center.

Several teams will compete against the Boilermakers, including Marquette, Notre Dame, Western Michigan and some athletes from both Indiana and Illinois. Marquette usually brings a good core of distance runners, while Notre Dame has a few good athletes, especially in the hurdles.

"In certain events, (Notre Dame) will supply some competition," said Purdue coach Ben Paolillo. Most of Purdue's athletes are coming off of a three-week layoff. The last competition they saw was indoors at the Indiana U.S. Athletic Track and Field State Championships. The team had a good indoor season, culminating in a fourth—place finish at the Big Ten Indoor conference championships. This weekend's meet will start the Boilers on the road to defending their 1999 Big Ten outdoor championship.

Paolillo said the team has been working on getting itself in the right mindset for the outdoor season. The team has to be focused from the start because the season only lasts six weeks. This weekend's Purdue Open will give the Boilers a chance to see if they are prepared and on the road to improving on their indoor season.

Seniors Carri Long and Beth Reid will lead Purdue, along with juniors Angela Craft, Serene Ross, Tina Johnson and sophomores Amy Spellmeyer and Krissy Liphardt. Long and Spellmeyer are fresh from competition at the NCAA indoor national championships and Big Ten indoor titles in the high jump and pole vault, respectively.

Competition is set to begin at 3 p.m. today and will continue at 11 a.m. Saturday morning.