USTFCCCA Release
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Lonnie Greene was named the Great Lakes Region's Women's Head Coach of the Year and Angela Elliott the Great Lakes Women's Assistant of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Monday. The award is the first of its kind for Greene, while Elliott's is her second, after picking up the honor outdoors in 2015.
Greene's award comes after the 14th-ranked women finished runner-up at the Big Ten Championships with 94 points. The team won six event titles, twice as many as the next best team, including the 4x400-meter relay with a conference-record time of 3:31.90. Greene oversees the entire program, which has now finished in the top three at the conference meet three years in a row. That is the first time the team has done that in program history.
Greene's women have also been ranked No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region all season.
The Purdue women have seven qualified marks for this week's NCAA Championships, which is the most in the region and two more than any other team in the Big Ten this year. Devynne Charlton, who is coached by Greene and Elliott, leads the way with two individual qualifications, including the No. 2 mark in the NCAA in the 60-meter hurdles. Charlton was the Big Ten Champion in the hurdles and 60m dash, both of which she qualified for nationally, as well as a silver medal in the 200m dash.
Janae' Moffitt defended her conference high jump title and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Brionna Thomas earned a spot in the 400m dash after winning the Big Ten title, Purdue's first in 16 years. Symone Black also grabbed a spot in the 400m dash after winning the bronze medal at Big Tens. The two, along with Jahneya Mitchell and Chloe Abbott, are headed to the NCAA Championships in the 4x400m relay as well.
Elliott and Greene work with Savannah Carson, who won the Big Ten title in the long jump. Carson's leap of 6.46m (21-2.50) ranks second in school history and third in Big Ten history. She is eighth on the NCAA lists and will head to the NCAA Championships.
A full list of regional awards is at the top of the page.
The Boilermakers wrap up the indoor season this week with the NCAA Championships. The meet runs Friday and Saturday in College Station, Texas.