WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The pre-NCAA Championship U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll was released Monday and both the men's and women's teams are top 16 in the country. The men's team held at No. 13, while the women moved up a spot to No. 16. The Boilermakers are the only Big Ten team ranked in both polls.
The men's team's ranking is tied for the highest in-season ranking in program history, matching last week's poll. Those are the only two weeks the Boilermakers have ever been in the top 15 in-season. The men have been top-15 three other times in the preseason poll or final NCAA Championships results, including a preseason rank of 14th last year. They finished sixth at the NCAA Championships in 2004 and 15th in 1981 for the only NCAA Championships top-15 finishes. The men are the highest ranked Big Ten team for the third straight week.
On the women's side, the Boilermakers moved up to No. 16, which is their highest ranking this season. The women started the year ranked 48th in the preseason poll and have steadily moved up ever since, checking in at Nos. 45, 29, 25, 21 and 17 before this week. The ranking is the sixth highest in-season ranking in program history, though just two spots behind the all-time program best of 14th from 2014.
The new rankings come as the official declarations for the NCAA Indoor Championships have been announced. The Purdue men have four entries, which is tied for the school's most since 2003 when it had five, while the women have five entries. The women's total is an all-time program best, as is the combined nine entries, including two relays.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi leads the men's side with entries in the weight throw and shot put. Anaquan Peterson qualified in the triple jump, while the men's 4x400-meter relay team will also make the trip. With the official announcement, the men now have advanced multiple entries to the indoor championships for three of the last four years dating to the hiring of Lonnie Greene as head coach in 2013. The men have 12 entries in that span, which is the most since 2002 to 2005 when the Boilermakers also had 12.
Brionna Thomas leads the women's side with entries in the 400m dash and the 4x400m relay. Devynne Charlton qualified in the 60m hurdles, Katie Hoevet in the mile and Savannah Carson in the long jump. The women's total entries are the most in program history.
The men's team earned a top-25 ranking in six of the seven polls, as well as the preseason poll this year. That break's last year's record of three top-25 rankings, as well as a top 25 ranking in the preseason poll. Since Greene took over at Purdue, the men have been in the top 25 in a USTFCCCA poll 13 times. Prior to his arrival, the men were top 25 just once in the poll that dates back to 2008. That ranking was in week one of 2008, when the Boilermakers were 25th.
The women's team earned four top-25 rankings in the seven in-season polls. The women have 11 top-25 rankings in-season, as well as a preseason top 25, since Greene took over the program in 2013. Prior to his arrival, the women's program had just two top-25s since the poll debuted in 2008, with both of those rankings coming that year. The men and women have both been in the top 25 in the same poll seven times in program history. Six of those have come with Greene as the head coach.
The NCAA Championships are set to begin in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday. The two-day meet wraps up Saturday evening. A full preview will be posted to PurdueSports.com later in the week.