Friday Program / Saturday Program
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The track & field team hosts its lone meet of the outdoor season Friday and Saturday at Rankin Track and Field. The Boilermakers welcome Louisville and Western Illinois for the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational, which begins Friday at 3 p.m. ET with the women's hammer throw.
THE COMPETITION
Louisville and Western Illinois make the trip, while a handful of competitors from DuPage and Illinois Track Club will also compete.
SENIOR DAY
Saturday is the final home meet for 25 seniors, including 24 student-athletes. The seniors have helped restore the program's Big Ten and national relevance, including top 15 finishes at NCAA Championships, a runner-up finish at Big Tens, among several other historical performances. Among the accomplishments of the senior class are 21 All-America honors, including 11 first team accolades, seven Big Ten championships, 15 school records and three regional athlete of the year honors.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi will go down as one of the most decorated individual athletes in Purdue history across all sports, as he is an 11-time All-American, including six-time first teamer, with as many as two more yet to come this season. He holds the school record in the indoor and outdoor shot put, weight throw and hammer throw and is a three-time Big Ten champion. Enekwechi has scored an incredible 34 points at NCAA Championship meets, been named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year twice, Big Ten Field Athlete of the Championships twice and holds the conference championship hammer throw record, which he set last year at Michigan State. His named has appeared on The Bowerman Watch list, he led the entire world in the weight throw this year, was named the Great Lakes Region's Athlete of the Year and the list goes on and on.
Matthew McClintock has had his share of success, with three first team All-America honors, two Big Ten titles, two Big Ten runner-up finishes, two Great Lakes Region Athlete of the Year honors and four school records. McClintock has also been honored numerous times for his achievement in the classroom, as he is a six-time member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic team, five-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, two-time Big Ten distinguished scholar, a third-team Academic All-American and was recently named Purdue's Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, which is awarded to top male for combined career academic and athletic achievement across all sports.
Aarin Jones is a three-time All-American, including earning first team honors last year at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 4x400m relay. Jones helped Purdue break the all-time Big Ten conference 4x400m relay record indoors, en route to a Big Ten title in late February. Jones is also a member of the four fastest outdoor 4x400m relay teams in program history.
Katie Hoevet earned her first All-America honor earlier this season, finishing one spot outside of qualifying for the finals at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the mile. Hoevet has earned all-region honors in cross country and has picked up four medals at Big Ten championships in her career. She holds the mile school record and is a member of the three-fastest distance medley relay teams in program history. Hoevet is a five-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection, three-time Academic All-Big Ten pick and two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Hoevet was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor for the top woman at Purdue in combined athletic and academic achievement across all sports.
These four, as well as the other 21 accomplished seniors will be recognized Saturday at 12:30 p.m. during the meet.
PURDUE ENTRIES
The full heat sheets and list of Purdue entries can be found at the top of the page. Among them, Enekwechi will compete in the shot put and hammer throw. Carmiesha Cox will run in the 200-meter dash alongside teammate Autumn Heath. Both rank in the top 10 in program history in the event. Brionna Thomas is expected to compete in the 400m dash, where she currently has the No. 2 time in program history.
FOLLOW THE MEET
Fans can follow the meet online at the live results page, which will be posted to PurdueSports.com when it becomes available. Results and notes will be posted live on Twitter @PurdueTrackXC.