Meet Program / Live Results
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The track & field teams kick off the 2016-17 schedule Friday at Indiana. The Boilermakers will compete in the Hoosier Open which is set to begin at 3:45 p.m. ET at Gladstein Fieldhouse in Bloomington, Indiana.
Friday will be the first opportunity to compete for several freshmen Boilermakers. Chloe Abbott is the heralded newcomers. The Northville, Michigan, native was a three-time state champion in high school and is the state's record-holder in the 400-meter dash. She is scheduled to toe the line in that event 5:50 p.m. Sekayi Bracey, a freshman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a 10-time individual state champion. She will begin her Purdue career competing in the long jump and 300m dash. Myia Dorsey is also slated to run the 300m. The freshman from Snellville, Georgia, is a 400m state champion.
Among the returners on both sides, the Boilermakers boast some of the best sprinters in the conference. Senior Savannah Carson is a three-time All-American and was an NCAA Championships qualifier in the 100m dash last spring. She was the conference runner-up in the 100m dash and finished fourth in the 60m dash a year ago and is set to compete in the 60m dash, 200m dash and the long jump. Carson is the school record holder in the 60m dash, second in the long jump and sixth in the 200m. Junior Carmiesha Cox will compete for the first time since the summer when she ran the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay for the Bahamas in the Rio Olympics. Cox, the school's second-fastest 200m sprinter and fourth-fastest 60m dasher and six-time All-American, is set to run in the 60m and 300m dashes.
Junior Autumn Heath is coming off a year that saw her pick up the first All-America honors of her career. She was a Big Ten champion as a member of the 4x100m relay and also advanced to the conference finals in the 60m and 100m dashes in their respective season. Heath, the fifth-fastest 60m dasher and seventh fastest 200m sprinter in program history, will compete in the 60m and 200m dashes. Junior Savannah Roberson is coming off her first All-America honors as a Boilermaker. A year ago, she was a finalist at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the 100m dash and finished 14th in the NCAA East Prelims in the 200m dash. Friday, she'll compete in the 60m and 300m dashes.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, juniors Symone Black and Brionna Thomas have collected nine All-America honors between them over their first two years. Both will run in the 500m Friday.
Among the men's sprinters, sophomores Malcolm Dotson and Keanu Pennerman are set to compete after impressive rookie seasons. Both were on the 4x100m relay team that qualified for that NCAA Outdoor Championships. Dotson scored at the conference meet in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m races, after taking ninth in the 200m indoors. He'll compete in the 60m and 300m dashes. Pennerman competed in just three meets last indoor season, but earned a bronze medal at the outdoor conference meet. He'll run in 60m and 300m dashes.
Obokhare Ikpefan, Shawndail McLaren and Kinard Rolle are back this season after combining for six All-America honors last year, including at least one first-team honor apiece. The three will run in the 500m run, while Ikpefan and McLaren will also compete in the 300m dash.
Another All-American set to compete Friday is sophomore Janae' Moffitt. She was last year's high jump Big Ten champion and Freshman of the Year indoors, before finishing runner-up outdoors at Big Tens and advancing to the NCAA Championships. She'll look to pick up where she left off in the high jump at 6:15 p.m.
The throwers will travel a deep group that includes All-American Caleb Fricke and regional qualifier Luke Lewis. Alisha Bahler is also among the group and she boasts the No. 9 mark in program history in both the shot put and weight throw. Sarah Loesch will also compete and has the No. 8 weight throw in program history.
Full results and a recap will be posted to PurdueSports.com following the completion of the meet. Select results will be updated throughout the meet on Twitter @PurdueTrackXC.