WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After a huge weekend at the Big Ten Champions, the men's track & field team earned its highest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ranking in program history Monday afternoon. The Boilermakers jumped 10 spots from No. 26 last week to No. 16 in the latest poll and are the highest ranked Big Ten team.
The USTFCCCA began its computerized poll in 2008. Since its inception, Purdue's highest ranking on the men's side was 23rd prior to this week. That ranking came in the 2009 preseason poll. The highest in-season ranking was 27th, which the men were ranked in back-to-back weeks in 2014 for the weeks seven and eight polls.
The men's ranking jumped thanks to several huge season-best performances. The men's 4x400-meter relay team ran the ninth-fastest time in the country this season, while Anaquan Peterson leapt the eighth-best triple jump mark nationally. Obokhare Ikpefan's 400-meter hurdles time from the weekend ranks eighth in the country, while Nicholas Parks ran the No. 21 400m time nationally. The men's 4x100m relay team also improved its time. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi has helped the team's ranking all season long, as he has the No. 2 shot put mark in the country and the No. 10 hammer mark.
The Boilermakers find out the regional draws Wednesday. The qualifiers and entries will be posted once the USTFCCCA has announced the lists.