Final Results
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -Â The women's 4x400-meter relay team capped an outstanding day at the track for Purdue on the final day of the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. The Boilermakers added four more entries to the NCAA Championships Sunday at Hodges Stadium.
Brionna Thomas ran one of the strongest 4x400m relay legs in program history Saturday night. The freshman took the stick with the Boilermakers in sixth place, at least 30 meters behind the lead pack of three. At the final straight away, she proved grit beyond her years as she surged past two teams with 50m left. It wasn't until the last five meters that Thomas was able to pass Alabama State and secure the automatic bid, shattering the school record with a time of 3:31.70. Thomas' official split time was 51.88 seconds.
"I knew fourth wasn't going to punch a ticket for Aarin (Jones) and Symone (Black)," Thomas said. "So, I fought for third to assure them a ticket to Oregon. I saw some of the other teams slowing down and I could hear Coach Greene in the stands. I knew I just had to go and get it done."
Symone Black helped set up Thomas in the mile relay. The freshman ran a split of 52.38 seconds to keep the Boilermakers in the race. Black took the baton from Carmiesha Cox, after Aarin Jones ran the lead leg, and though she maintained the sixth-place position, she helped close the gap. The group advances to Eugene, Oregon, after breaking the school record by 1.80 seconds.
The women's 4x100m relay team started the day for Purdue with the Boilermakers' first qualifying mark of the day. Savannah Carson, Cox, Devynne Charlton and Thomas broke the school record with a time of 43.97 seconds. The time was the second-fastest of the heat, earning the group a spot in the national championships. The time broke the previous school record, set earlier this season, by 0.65 of a second.
Charlton also qualified individually. She was in the 100m hurdles and finished second in her heat with a time of 13.21 seconds into a wind of 0.2 meters per second. Her time was the 10th fastest of the quarterfinals. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi added an event to his already-punched NCAA Championships ticket. The junior opened the shot put with a throw of 19.09m (62-7.75). That held on to be his best mark and the seventh-best of the competition. Enekwechi will compete in both the hammer and the shot put at the NCAA Championships for the second time in his career.
Vania Anane finished 35th in the triple jump with a mark of 12.17m (39-11.25), while the men's 4x400m relay team of Nicholas Parks, Kendal Frederick, Kinard Rolle and Chris Arvia finished 19th with a time of 3:08.74. The group missed qualifying by just over two seconds. Anaquan Peterson finished 24th in the men's triple jump with a mark of 15.10m (49-6.50), while Luke Lewis was 37th in the shot put with a throw of 16.98m (55-8.50).
With the four qualifying entries Saturday, the Boilermakers have seven entries in the national championships, which begin Wednesday, June 10.