WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Symone Black was named the women's Big Ten Freshman of the Year for the indoor season, the conference office announced on Tuesday evening. Black is Purdue's first winner since 2011 when Dani Bunch picked up the honor. The award is voted on by the conference head coaches.
"It's a great feeling to be named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year," Black said. "I wasn't expecting it at all, it's a real surprise. I knew I did well at the meet, but I never imagined this. It's great to see that all of the hard workouts and training we have done are paying off.If you would have told me back in August that I would be Big Ten Freshman of the Year, I would have told you that you were crazy. I was crying trying to get through our hill workouts and (head) Coach (Lonnie) Greene wiped away my tears and promised that I would get through it and that I would be okay. This wouldn't have been possible without the help of my mom, dad, sister and Coach Greene."
Black wrapped up her indoor season with a pair of medals at the Big Ten Championships over the weekend. The freshman from Ft. Wayne, Ind., qualified for the 400-meter dash finals with a time of 54.50 seconds, the fifth-fastest time in the preliminary round. In the finals, despite being boxed in until the home stretch, Black found a small gap along the rail and motored across the finish line shattering the school record along the way. Her time of 53.47 seconds bested the previous record by 0.76 of a second, as she became the first Boilermaker in school history to run a sub-54 second time indoors.
Black's time was the third-best by a freshman in the country for the season and ranks 35th overall. She was the only freshman in the Big Ten to make the 400m final, and was one of just three underclassmen. Black also tied for the highest individual finish in an event by a freshman woman at the championships. She was one of just three rookies to pick up an individual silver medal.
Black also was huge in the final event of the championships as she ran the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter relay. The Boilermakers could have potentially finished anywhere from second to eighth in the team standings depending on the relay. Black took the baton after a slight bump at the exchange and the relay team in third. She ran a strong final leg, holding off a charging Minnesota team, which preserved the Boilermakers' third-place team finish for the meet. The team's finish was the highest for the Purdue women at the indoor meet since 2001.
Black wrapped up her freshman indoor season with the school record in the 400m dash, the fourth-fastest 200m time and a member of the three fastest 4x400m relay teams in school history.
"Coming to Purdue was one of the best decisions I have ever made," Black said. "The team and the coaches really push us and motivate us to be our best. This is a blessing from God and I am beyond thankful. I am excited to see what outdoors holds."
Black, who attended Concordia High School, is the third Purdue woman to win Big Ten Freshman of the Year in program history. She is one of just two true freshman to do so, along with Lindsay Zinn in 2002. Black is also Second Team All-Big Ten for her efforts in the 400m.
The full list of the Big Ten's awards are below.
WOMEN
Track Athlete of the Year
Leah O'Connor, Michigan State
Field Athlete of the YearKelsey Card, WisconsinFreshman of the Year
Symone Black, Purdue
Track Athlete of the Championships
Leah O'Connor, Michigan State
Field Athlete of the Championships
Kelsey Card, Wisconsin
Coach of the Year
Karen Dennis, Ohio State
MENTrack Athlete of the YearDJ Zahn, Illinois Field Athlete of the Year
Michael Lihrman, WisconsinFreshman of the Year
Zack Bazile, Ohio State
Track Athlete of the Championships
DJ Zahn, Illinois
Field Athlete of the Championships
Michael Lihrman, WisconsinCoach of the Year
Gary Pepin, Nebraska