EUGENE, Ore. -Â The Purdue women's track and field team had an incredible day on Thursday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Boilermakers had three entries competing in semifinals on the day and all three qualified for Saturday's finals.
"It was an awesome day," head coach Lonnie Greene said. "It is literally the best runners in the country and in the world, and we showed we belong. Our kids just battled out there today. We competed well. I thought all of our kids ran well. It's going to be very exciting on Saturday."
The women's 4x100-meter relay team opened the day for the Boilermakers and came out of the third heat. The group of Savannah Carson, Carmiesha Cox, Devynne Charlton and Brionna Thomas, all in their first NCAA Outdoor Championships, needed to finish in the top two in their heat or be among the next two fastest times in order to make finals. Carson opened up with a solid leg before handing the baton to Cox. The sophomore Bahamian kept the Boilermakers in the race before handing to fellow classmate and countrywomen Charlton. Charlton battled with Texas and Oklahoma to keep Purdue in the mix, before handing off to Thomas, the anchor leg. Thomas, a freshman, did exactly as she has done all year and battled to the end, edging Oklahoma by 0.05 of a second to secure third place in the heat. The team's time of 44.20 seconds was good enough for eighth-fastest overall and the second-fastest non-automatic qualifying team, earning the team a spot in Saturday's finals.
Charlton was back on the track less than an hour later to compete in the 100m hurdles. She was in heat two, which featured three individuals with top-five times in the country. Charlton got out to a great start and was neck and neck for the leader after four hurdles. From there, she continued to battle and came across third in her heat with a windy time of 12.87 seconds (+3.7). Her time was the fastest by a non-automatic qualifier on the day, giving her a spot in the finals. Charlton's mark was the fifth-best in the semifinals.
The women's 4x400m relay team was last on the track. The team of Symone Black, Cox, Aarin Jones and Thomas looked to make it a perfect day for the Boilermakers. Greene decided to switch up the order from regionals, where the Boilermakers broke the school record, and his move paid off. Black, a freshman from Fort Wayne, Indiana, gave the Boilermakers the lead after the first leg. Cox kept up the pace into the windy back stretch, before handing the baton to Jones, still in the lead. Jones, a junior, ran what Coach Greene referred to as "her best leg as a Boilermaker," and kept Purdue among the top three, including a pair of teams with top 10 marks in the country on the season. Thomas, another freshman from Fort Wayne, again brought it home. She battled to the finish line, holding off the University of Miami for the third place spot in the heat. The women's time of 3:33.07 is their second fastest of the year, and second-fastest ever run by a Purdue team, and earned them the top non-automatic qualifying spot in Saturday's final.
In track events, only eight make the finals in each event. The top eight finishers earn First Team All-America honors, which is something Purdue has never done at the NCAA Championships in the 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay or 100m hurdles. Lorna Russell and Maria Williams were All-Americans in the 100m hurdles for Purdue in 1982, though at the AIAW National Championships.
The Boilermakers do not have any competitors on Friday at the NCAA Championships, as the men wrapped up their season Wednesday evening. The women will be back, including Micaela Hazlewood in the discus, on Saturday afternoon.