Wednesday Results
EUGENE, Ore. - Last throw, best throw. That's the mantra for throwers in track & field. And that's exactly what Chukwuebuka Enekwechi did Wednesday to wrap up the most historic career a male track athlete has ever had at Purdue.
Enekwechi entered the shot put after taking sixth place in the hammer throw earlier in the day. He opened his final event with a throw of 19.83 meters (65-00.75) to put him in third after the first round of throws. From there, he made finals but fell back to fifth place after not improving on his next four attempts. He had just one more throw in his career to try to move up, and he made the most of it.
"Coach (Keith) McBride told me to just go," Enekwechi said about approaching his last throw. "That's what I wanted to do and that's what he wanted me to do and I just went. It didn't feel like a good throw. I came in not fresh so I knew that none of the throws, whether they went far or short, was going to feel good. I just had to go and that I did. I was lucky to save it and I'm glad I did."
Enekwechi's throw matched his own school record in the event with a mark of 20.37m (66-10.00). It was the second-best overall throw in the competition and earned him a second-place finish, eight points and first team All-America honors. The honors were the eighth first team accolades of his career, including the first team honors from the hammer throw earlier in the day, and 13th overall All-American honors he's earned at Purdue. Both are all-time Purdue records, surpassing Shaun Guice's seven first team honors in the early 2000s.
Earlier in the day in the hammer throw, Enekwechi opened with a throw of 68.75m (225-6), which put him in fifth. He was able to improve twice, including a best of 69.74m (228-10) on his fifth attempt. The senior finished sixth in the competition to get Purdue on the board with three points.
Enekwechi wraps up a lustrous career with four first team All-America honors this year alone, after finishing second in the weight throw and fourth in the shot put indoors. With the 11 points he scored Wednesday, the Laurelton, New York, native finished his career with 45 total points scored at NCAA Championship meets, with six points in the hammer throw, eighth points in the outdoor shot put, five points in the indoor shot put and 26 points in the weight throw.
With his 11 points Wednesday, the Purdue men are currently in third place at the meet. Oregon leads with 19 points.
Enekwechi, this year's Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year, Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Field Athlete of the Championships, finished with two first team All-America honors in the hammer throw, one in the outdoor shot put, one in the indoor shot put and four in the weight throw. He also racked up two second team All-America honors in the hammer throw, a second team honor in the outdoor shot put, a second team honor in the indoor shot put and an honorable mention for All-America in the outdoor shot put. He qualified and competed in all eight national championships that were held during his career. He holds the school record in all four events.
"I'm satisfied and I have no regrets," Enekwechi said of his Purdue career. "I did it the right way and finished healthy. I like how my career went. I'm really happy. It's been a great time. Today went way better than I thought it would. I was just hoping to make finals in both and it went better than I could have hoped."
While Enekwechi's Purdue career is over, he is still searching for another 13 centimeters, about five inches, in the shot put. That's how much he needs to hit the 20.50m (67-3.00) standard for the Rio Olympics this summer. He'll compete in more meets leading up to The Games.
Elsewhere on the track at Hayward Field on Wednesday, the men's 4x400-meter relay team of Nicholas Parks, Kyle Webb, Kendal Frederick and Shawndail McLaren earned an automatic bid to Friday's finals after winning their heat. The team was actually the last of the eight teams in the heat to make the second exchange, but just as he did at the NCAA East Prelims, Frederick ran a great leg and got the Boilermakers back in the race. His official split time was 45.98 seconds, which moved Purdue from eighth to third. Then it was McLaren's turn to bring them home. For the second meet in-a-row, McLaren ran a sub-46-second anchor leg with an official split of 45.82 seconds to bring the Boilermakers across the line second with a time of 3:05.95. After review, though, Stephen F. Austin who had come across the line first was disqualified it became apparent a lane line was breached during one of the first two legs, which gave the Boilermakers the heat win.
The time is the second fastest in program history, 1.20 seconds off the school record time ran by Parks, Obokhare Ikpefan, Frederick and McLaren at Big Tens earlier this season. The finals for the 4x400m relay are set for Friday at 10:45 p.m. ET.
The men also competed in the 400m dash, 400m hurdles and 4x100m relay Wednesday. Ikpefan finished 11th and is in line to earn second team All-America honors in the 400m hurdles, after crossing the line in 50.82 seconds. The 4x100m relay team of Gerald McGee, Malcolm Dotson, Webb and Parks finished 17th in the country and is in line to earn honorable mention honors. Parks also ran in the 400m dash and finished 24th in the country. He's in line to earn honorable mention honors in the event as well.
The women's championships begin Thursday. The Boilermakers have nine entries in the meet, including six set to compete on the opening day. The full list of entries is below.
Thursday
7:32 p.m. - Heath, Cox, Roberson, Carson - 4x100m relay - Heat 3, Lane 3
8 - Jessica Harter - Pole Vault - 21st jumper
8:46 - Savannah Carson - 100m dash - Heat 1, Lane 8
9:30 - Symone Black - 400m hurdles - Heat 3, Lane 8
9:44 - Carmiesha Cox - 200m dash - Heat 3, Lane 7
10:48 - Jones, Cox, Black, Thomas - 4x400m relay - Heat 1, Lane 8
Friday
10:51 - Parks, Ikpefan/Webb, Frederick, McLaren - 4x400m relay finals
Saturday
6 p.m. - Janae' Moffitt - High Jump - ninth jumper
6:05 - Chelsie Meeks, Micaela Hazlewood - Discus Throw - Flight 1, sixth thrower; Flight 2, first thrower
6:32* - Heath, Cox, Roberson, Cox - 4x100m relay finals
7:22* - Savannah Carson - 100m dash finals
7:57* - Symone Black - 400m hurdles finals
8:07* - Carmiesha Cox - 200m dash finals
8:51* - Jones, Cox, Black, Thomas - 4x400m relay finals
All times Eastern
*must advance through semifinals