Saturday Results / Sunday Heat Sheets
LINCOLN, Neb. - The Purdue women advanced all four individuals to the 100-meter dash finals Saturday at Ed Weir Track and Field. Anaquan Peterson and Gerald McGee both scored in the men's long jump, while Savannah Carson and Yamani Hunter finished fourth and eighth, respectively, in the women's long jump.
In the women's 100-meter dash, the Boilermakers earned two automatic berths and two at-large bids with a pair of heat wins and heat runners-up finishes. Carmiesha Cox ran the third-fastest time in program history to win her heat of the race. The junior crossed the finish line with a wind-legal (+0.9) time of 11.43 seconds. Her time was the third-fastest of all prelims. Savannah Roberson won the first heat to earn her automatic bid. Roberson matched her PR with a time of 11.62 seconds to win by 0.01 of a second. That hundredth of a second was a big one, because Roberson got in, while the second place finisher, Briana Guillory of Iowa, was the first one out.
Savannah Carson grabbed the top at-large spot in finals by finishing second in the third heat. Carson ran a time of 11.52 seconds to qualify for the finals. Autumn Heath snagged the last at-large spot in finals after finishing second in the final heat. Heath's time of 11.61 seconds was the eighth and final one to qualify.
More impressively, the women qualified the maximum eligible amount to finals while last year's champion, Devynne Charlton, cheered the team on from stands as she is redshirting with an injury.
Cox also had a big day in the 200m. She broke her own school record, running a wind-legal (+1.1) time of 23.16 seconds to win her heat. Cox's time was the fifth-fastest in the prelims and broke her previous record by 0.17 of a second. Savannah Roberson became the second-fastest 200-meter dasher in program history after she ran a time of 23.42 seconds. Roberson's time finishes 10th at the meet.
In the women's long jump, Carson finished fourth to get the women's team on the board with five points. She had four jumps over six meters, including a best on her final wind-aided (+3.0) jump of 6.22m (20-05.00). Hunter finished eighth to earn a point in her first Big Ten outdoor meet after qualifying for finals in ninth. She moved up a spot on her fourth jump, leaping a wind-legal 5.94m (19-6.00).
Peterson took fifth in the men's long jump to score four points for Purdue. He leapt 7.41m (24-3.75) on his fifth attempt, which was his best, after qualifying for finals in ninth. McGee made finals with a wind-aided (+4.3) jump of 7.37m (24-2.75). That mark ended up being his best, as he finished sixth to earn three points for the men.
Malcolm Dotson had a big day on the track, qualifying for two finals in his first Big Ten outdoor meet. The freshman from Indianapolis won his heat of the 100m dash with a wind-legal time of 10.45 seconds. He also automatically qualified for the 200m finals with a heat win. There, he ran a wind-aided time of 20.91 seconds to advance.
Several other Boilermakers advanced to Sunday's finals with strong performances Saturday. Symone Black earned an automatic bid into the 400m hurdles finals after winning her heat. The defending conference champion in the event ran a time of 57.69 seconds, which was the third-fastest time of all prelims. Katie Hoevet earned an at-large spot in the women's 1,500m run after finishing with a time of 4:27.03. That time earned the second of three at-large spots.
Brionna Thomas automatically qualified for the 400m finals with a heat win. The sophomore crossed the line in 53.55 seconds, which was the fourth-fastest of all prelims. Nicholas Parks and Shawndail McLaren advanced to the men's 400m finals. Parks was 0.01 of a second off her PR with a time of 46.54 seconds, while McLaren grabbed the last at-large spot after finishing in 47.20 seconds. McLaren's time is a Purdue best for him.
Obokhare Ikpefan grabbed an automatic bid after tying for second in his heat of the men's 400m hurdles. Three runners came across the line at virtually the same time as all three times showed on the board as 51.48 seconds. When taken out to the thousandth of a second, Ikpefan and Michigan's Taylor McLaughlin showed 51.480, while Ohio State's Antonio Blanks was credited with the heat win with a time of 51.474.
Kiara McIntosh earned a spot in the women's 800m finals with the third of four at-large bids. McIntosh finished second in her heat with a time of 2:09.72. Shantyra Delaney earned an automatic bid in the women's 100m hurdles after finishing second in the first heat of the event. She ran a wind-legal (+2.0) time of 13.40 seconds, which ranks fourth in school history.
Matthew Garrison and Tim Deal wrapped up the decathlon. While neither scored, both had time five performances in program history. Garrison finished 12th with 6,795 points, with Deal finished 13th with 6,767. Garrison's total ranks fourth in program history, while Deal moves into fifth.
After two days, the men have 25 points and sit in fifth place. The women 11th with six points, but have huge scoring opportunities Sunday, with four in the 100m dash finals, one in the 100m hurdles, one in the 200m, one in the 400m, the defending champion in the 400m hurdles, one in the 800m, one in the 1,500m, the indoor champion in the high jump, the defending champions in the 4x100m, the indoor champions in the 4x400m, an All-American in the discus, the silver medalist in the indoor pole vault, a two-time scorer in the triple jump and four runners in the 5k.
Also Sunday, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi wraps up his Big Ten Championships career with the shot put. Already a champion at the meet in the hammer throw, Enekwechi has the two-best shot put marks in the conference this season. Matthew McClintock will also wrap up his Big Ten Championships career with the 5,000-meter run, where he is the defending champion.
Sunday's action begins at 1 p.m. ET with Vania Anane in the women's triple jump. The first track event is the women's 4x100m relay with Heath, Cox, Roberson and Carson, all of whom qualified for the 100m finals. That event is scheduled for 2:45 p.m.