WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue track and field teams hosted the 20th annual Gene Edmonds Invitational on Saturday at Lambert Fieldhouse. The Boilermakers cracked the top five lists in a couple events and a pair of facility records went down.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi of the 14th-ranked men's team was the first competitor to take down a facility record. The junior needed just two tosses to surpass his own facility record in the weight throw, as he recorded a mark of 23.32m (76-6.25), half an inch better than his previous Lambert record. That would be Enekwechi's best throw of the day, and he won the event by nearly 12 feet. His mark was nearly a foot better than his throw from the December season opener, and ranks as the best in the country.
Caleb Fricke had a personal record in the weight throw. He finished fifth with a mark of 18.03m (59-02.00), which is just over three inches better than his previous best.
Devynne Charlton had a nice day on the track. The sophomore won the 60m dash, after qualifying for finals with the second-best time. In the finals, she ran a PR of 7.47 seconds to win 0.07 of a second. Her time ranks second in Purdue history, just 0.06 of a second off Sybil Perry's record from 1983, and is currently 10th in the country. Charlton also won the 200m dash, edging her teammate and fellow Bahamian Carmiesha Cox. Charlton finished in 24.59 seconds, while Cox was second with a time of 24.61. Cox's time ranks fifth in program history. Charlton's time converts to 24.22 seconds, which ranks fourth in the country, while Cox's time converts to 24.24, which ranks sixth in the country. The conversions are due to Purdue's 200m track size.
As if she hadn't done enough, Charlton also took the title in the 60m hurdles. After winning the prelim with a time of 8.41 seconds, Charlton posted a time of 8.38 seconds in the finals to win by 0.22 of a second. That time is just 0.05 of a second off her PR, and is still only behind only two other Boilermakers in program history. Charlton was also part of the 'B' team 4x4 relay for the Boilermakers which finished third overall with a time of 3:51.91.
The Purdue women had a great day overall in the 60m dash. Aside from Charlton winning it, Savannah Carson took second with a time of 7.54 seconds, which ranks fifth in program history. Cox took third with a time of 7.56 seconds, which ranks sixth all time at Purdue. Twyla Winfrey finished fifth in the event.
The 400m went well for the women as well. Freshman Megan Paul won with a time of 57.30 seconds, a mark that converts to 56.55 seconds, which ranks 26th in the country. Taylor Dunlap and Brionna Thomas took second and third, respectively, with times of 57.52 and 57.91 seconds. Georgia Williams gave the Boilermakers a fourth finisher in the top five with a fifth place finish after crossing the finish line in 59.42 seconds.
The women took the top eight spots in the women's mile. Hope Schmelzle was the winner with a time of 4:54.63, while Katie Hoevet was second with a time of 4:54.99. Schmelzle's time converts to 4:51.75, the nation's 10th fastest time, while Hoevet's is 11th at 4:52.10. Sharise Lund took third with a time of 4:58.35, which converts to the nation's 14th-best time. The women dominated the 4x400m relay as well, with the 'A' team winning with a time of 3:46.88, a time that converts to 3:43.91, the nation's sixth-best time. The 'B' team took third with a time of 3:51.91, which converts to the nation's 25th-best time.
On the men's side, the Boilermakers took the top three and six of the top seven spots in the 400m dash. Kendal Frederick was the champion with a time of 49.44 seconds, while Nicholas Parks was second in 49.51, after returning to the track and missing last season. Chris Arvia rounded out the top three with a time of 49.90.
Tate Schienbein won the men's mile by nearly six seconds with a time of 4:11.42. That time converts to 4:08.26, which is currently the nation's sixth-fastest time. The men had two of the top three, including the winner, in the 4x400m relay. The 'A' team finished with a time of 3:15.72, which converts to 3:12.65, which is the nation's sixth-fastest time. The men also took the top three in the shot put, with Enekwechi taking the title. He threw a mark of 18.22m (59-9.25), which is just behind his season-opening throw of 18.28m (59-11.25). Enekwechi's best mark Saturday is behind only nine other throwers in the country this season. Jordan Roos took second, after redshirting last year to focus on football. He threw a mark of 17.31m (56-9.50), which ranks 26th in the country. Freshman Luke Lewis finished third with a best throw of 16.86m (55-3.75). That distance is 40th in the country.
The other facility record to go down was in the 60m dash. Mississippi's Jalen Miller ran a time of 6.57 seconds in the prelim, which eclipsed the previous Lambert Fieldhouse record of 6.64 seconds by Joshua Johnson of Pioneer Track Club from Jan. 13, 2001. Miller then ran a 6.56-second time in the finals to break it again. Adam Harris of Guyana ran a 6.61 in the finals, which also surpassed the old Lambert record.
The Boilermakers are back in action next week at the Purdue & Indiana Dual. The meet will take place in Bloomington, after the Boilermakers won the event in West Lafayette last season.