Friday Results
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Carmiesha Cox tied the school record in the women's 200-meter dash and the Boilermakers added four other top-10 marks in program history on the first day of the Meyo Invitational. Purdue won four events and had 12 individuals advance to Saturday semifinals.
Cox was in the fast heat of the 200m dash and chased Miami senior Shakima Wimbley, who has the nation's fastest 400m dash time this season. The Purdue junior stayed on her hip most of the race and came in second with a time of 23.64 seconds. Her time was a personal record by 0.04 of a second and tied teammate Devynne Charlton's school record, which was set at last year's Big Ten Championships. Cox finished runner-up overall through the 14 heats and her time ranks 21st in the country this season.
Junior Savannah Roberson was in the same 200m heat as Cox. She used the fast pace to run a time of 23.69 seconds, a PR by 0.33 of a second, and take third overall in the event. Roberson's time ranks third in school history. Freshman Sekayi Bracey also had a PR in the 200m dash and added her name to the program's top-10 list. She won her heat with a time of 24.44 seconds to take ninth overall.
With the addition of Bracey to the 200m top-10 list, the current Purdue team boasts the seven fastest 200m dashers in program history (Cox and Charlton - 23.64; Roberson - 23.69; Brionna Thomas - 23.97; Symone Black - 24.12; Savannah Carson - 24.37; Bracey - 24.44).
The Purdue women had the top two, and three of the top four, qualifiers in the women's 60-meter dash. Carson had the fastest overall time in the prelims, crossing the line in 7.41 seconds. Cox won her heat and had the second-fastest overall time, breaking the tape in 7.45 seconds. Charlton won her heat with the fourth fastest overall time of 7.45 seconds. Bracey also advanced to the semifinals after taking second in her heat and 14th overall with a time of 7.51 seconds. That was just 0.01 of a second off her PR, which ranks fifth in school history.
Charlton had the top overall time in the women's 60m hurdles, crossing the line in 8.21 seconds, but it was Roberson with a PR moving up the Purdue lists. Roberson took second in her heat and 12th overall with a time of 8.58 seconds, which ranks eighth in school history. Both women, as well as Shantyra Delaney who took 15th with a time of 8.65 seconds, will advance to Saturday's semifinals.
Carson had her best day of the year in the long jump. She leapt 6.17m (20-3.00) on her second attempt, which held on to be her best of the day. The jump is two centimeters better than her previous season best and is tied for the 20th best in the country this year. Carson finished second in the event, just one centimeter, about a half inch, shy of the winner, Bre'Yana Wash of Louisville. Yamani Hunter finished seventh with a jump of 5.77m (18-11.25), while Jaden Mattox was 10th with a mark of 5.72m (18-9.25).
Sarah Loesch won the women's weight throw with a new personal best. The sophomore had a throw of 20.27m (66-6.00) on her final throw, which is nine and a half inches better than her previous best. Loesch won by two feet, seven inches with her throw that ranks fourth in school history. Alisha Bahler was eighth in the event with a best mark of 17.54m (57-6.50), which also came on her last attempt.
Jahneya Mitchell had her best day as a Boilermaker, winning her heat of the 600m dash. Mitchell finished with a time of 1:33.98 to take eighth overall. Her time was an improvement of nearly eight seconds from her previous race. Jenna Halderman was another Boilermaker with a career day. She finished the 5,000-meter race in a time of 17:07.37, which was a PR by over 20 seconds.
On the men's side, Malcolm Dotson was Purdue's top finisher in the 60- and 200-meter dashes. He ran a time of 6.81 seconds in the 60m, which qualified for Saturday's semifinals as the 11th fastest prelim time. In the 200m dash, he won the event with the top overall time of 21.45 seconds.
Kyle Webb and Josh Ebikwo were also qualifiers for the 60m dash semifinals. Webb finished 17th overall with a time of 6.90 seconds, which Ebikwo was 20th with a time of 6.94 seconds. Webb was also in the 200m dash and finished 14th with a time of 21.83 seconds.
Jeremy Craven had a big day in the men's 5k. He finished seventh overall with a time of 14:32.45, a PR by 3.54 seconds. The junior is inching closer to Purdue's all-time top-10 list and is now within seven seconds of adding his name. Matt Grider was also in the 5k and finished 18th with a time of 14:40.68.
Justin Veteto and Bijay Stephens both advanced to the 60m hurdles semifinals. Veteto was runner-up in his heat with the 10th fastest time overall, crossing the line in 8.19 seconds. Stephens ran a time of 8.45 seconds to finish 21st and grab a spot in the semis.
Caleb Fricke had a big PR in the men's weight throw. He advanced to the finals and finished with a mark of 18.92m (62-1.00). Fricke had three throws over his previous PR of 18.55m (60-10.50), before ultimately finishing seventh overall. Luke Lewis was also in the event and finished 20th with a throw of 15.91m (52-2.50).
The Boilermakers will be busy Saturday, starting at 9:45 a.m. ET with the women's 60m hurdle semifinals. The action will be nonstop until it wraps up after 4 p.m. with the men's 4x400m relay.
The final two hours of the meet will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra/WatchESPN from 2-4 p.m. That link is available here.