Boilermakers win meet on new course

By Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor

All week during practice, coach Mike Poehlein told his cross country runners to run as a pack for most of the race.

Little did he know that the women would actually do so or that in doing so they would place first through eighth at their first meet and carry Purdue to a win in the Purdue Open, the inaugural race on the new Purdue cross country course.

"We've been training a lot and staying together as a group," said Kim Snyder, who finished second. "We know that's what it takes to get to the NCAAs and that's our goal this year."

And although the Purdue runners stayed relatively close to each other for most of the 5,000-meter race, there was one runner who stayed well ahead of everyone else.

Freshman Lindsay Zinn took first place in a time of 17:39.80 — 41.90 seconds ahead of Snyder and the others.

"I kind of felt bad leaving the girls behind, but I guess that was instinct," Zinn said. "Next time I'll go out a little slower."

Barbara Wenger, Teresa Kamleiter, Christan Bahler, Amber Ferner, Julie Sennott and Mia Burki finished third through eighth, respectively, to help Purdue easily beat Iowa, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Danville Area Community College.

The men, running against a stronger, larger field, weren't victorious, but they stayed close to the front and finished third in their 8,000-meter race.

With three runners finishing in the top 10, Iowa edged Illinois for the team win.

Freshman David Rae was the first Boilermaker to cross the finish line, finishing in eighth place in a time of 25:35 — 52.6 seconds behind the winner, Iowa's Trent Corey.

"I was just trying to concentrate, stay in the leading pack and not break from it," Rae said.

After approximately 2,000 meters, Rae was in fourth place, but a stomach cramp caused him to fall back in the order as the race progressed.

"David ran a brilliant race," Poehlein said. "He slipped a bit, but that won't happen in another couple of weeks."

The Boilers had only one man, Robert Heise, returning from among last year's top five runners. Heise finished 11th, but he praised Rae afterward.

"(Rae) is going to help us bring in a new era," Heise said. "His race was a great beginning to a new era. It should be a phenomenal year."

Poehlein said the men should be good in time.

"To teach the women to focus for 5,000 meters is relatively easy," Poehlein said. "To get the men to focus for 8,000 is tough."

Running in his first meet since 1998, Geoff Fleming placed 12th. Teammate Mike Cicarrelli, who finished 14th, was the fourth Purdue runner in the top 15. Jason Carlson, one of Purdue's top runners, got accidentally spiked by a nearby runner's shoes early in the race, but, instead of withdrawing, he finished. However, he placed 36th.

Poehlein said both teams have plenty to improve upon.

"All of (the runners) felt like there were still some things they didn't do," Poehlein said. "And I love that. Usually when you lose and you admit that, it doesn't say a whole lot. But when you win and then go and say you need to do better, it becomes a lot more meaningful."

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