SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Boilermakers broke two school records on the opening day of the Meyo Invitational. Devynne Charlton first took down her own record in the 60-meter hurdles, before Carmiesha Cox broke her own school mark in the 200m.
"It was a very good day overall," assistant coach Angie Goodman said. "I was really pleased with our performances. We had a few PRs, especially in the 60 and 200. We just told them to go out there and execute what we have been practicing. Today, I think we saw that. We executed really well."
Charlton opened in heat eight of the 60m hurdles prelims and won with a time of 8.39 seconds. Her time held up as the third fastest overall and advanced her to the semis. There, she ran a career best and school record time of 8.17 seconds to win her heat and advance to Saturday's finals. Her time currently ranks fourth in the country and second in the Big Ten, behind Michigan's Cindy Ofili. Ofili ran a time of 8.11 on Friday and will compete against Charlton on Saturday.
Cox ran the 200m after competing in the 60m dash prelims and semis. She was in the 13th of 15 heats and ran a time of 23.87 seconds, the first Purdue woman to ever run a sub-24 seconds 200m race indoor. Her time was the top collegiate time at the meet, and was second overall. Her time ranks 23rd in the country.
"I think Devynne and Carmiesha still have a lot in front of them," Goodman said. The way their training is set up is to continue to improve throughout the season. We definitely aren't surprised to see either one of them hit the times that they did today. We as coaches said at the beginning of the season that they have these types of performances and records in them. I think there's even more left there for both of them. Both have gotten stronger and stronger each week."
In the 60m, Cox ran a 7.56-seconds time in the prelims to take second in the first heat and qualify for the semifinals. There, she PRed with a time of 7.49 seconds to take seventh and miss out on finals by one spot. Her time ranks fourth in Purdue history. Savannah Carson was the top Boilermaker in the 60m dash. Carson ran a PR time of 7.40 seconds to win the first heat of the prelims. That time ranks second in school history, just 0.01 of a second behind Charlton's record. Carson qualified for Saturday's finals after posting a 7.44 in the semis, the fifth-best time overall. Twyla Winfrey advanced to the semis after running a time of 7.55 in the prelims.
After Friday's races, the Purdue women now have four of the fastest five 60m dashers in school history, including three sophomores and a junior.
Symone Black had a huge PR in the 200m dash. The freshman ran a time of 24.30 seconds to take ninth overall. Her time was her best at Purdue by 0.28 of a second and ranks fourth in school history. Carson also PRed in the event after running a time of 24.51 seconds. Her time was good for 13th overall and is the sixth-fastest in school history. Savannah Roberson also cracked the top 10 in school history in the 200m on Friday. The freshman ran a time of 24.60 seconds to win her heat. That time ranks ninth in school history.
After Friday's races, the Purdue women now have six of the nine fastest 200m runners in program history on the roster, including the top four. Cox holds the school record, while freshman Brionna Thomas has the No. 2 overall mark. Black currently ranks third, while Charlton ranks fourth. Carson is sixth, just 0.01 of a second outside fifth, and Roberson is ninth. All six individuals are sophomores or younger.
On the men's side, Shane Mikesky got things going by qualifying for the semifinals in the 60m hurdles. He ran a time of 8.29 seconds, before improving to 8.27 seconds in the semis, though he did not advance. Tyler Askew took fourth in the long jump in his season debut. Askew leapt 7.36m (24-1.75) on his fifth attempt, which held on to be his best of the day.
The Boilermakers have a busy day on Saturday, with qualifiers competing in final events, as well as individuals competing for the first time at the meet. Live scoring will be available on PurdueSports.com, as well as up-to-date information on the team's Twitter feed @PurdueTrackXC. A full recap and results will be posted at the conclusion of the meet.