Big Ten Release
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Lonnie Greene was unanimously selected the women's Big Ten Coach of the Year, while Devynne Charlton was the unanimous selection for the women's Track Athlete of the Championships. Greene and Charlton led Purdue to its first Big Ten Outdoor team title since 1999 over the weekend.
"It's always an honor when your peers dub you as the coach of the year," Greene said. "In a league like the Big Ten where some of the best coaches in the country practice this craft, for them to deem you worthy of such a great honor is such a great blessing from the Lord. I couldn't have achieved this without the help of my staff, Norbert Elliott, Angela Elliott, Jeff Kent, Keith McBride, Chris Huffins and Cory Thalheimer - they all played a specific role in me getting this honor. Every head coach is only as good as his assistants. And to the athletes under my charge, I am grateful because it was them who did the work."
The Purdue women won five event Big Ten titles over the weekend to pave the way for the team title. The Boilermakers scored 133 points to win by 27.5 points over the next closest team. Charlton played a huge role, taking home three gold medals in a span of 60 minutes. She won the 100-meter dash, one of just two women in program history to do so, the 100-meter hurdles, the first by a Boilermaker since 1985, and ran the lead leg of the championship 4x100-meter relay team, the third year in a row the team won the conference title. In all, Charlton was responsible for 26.5 points.
"Devynne has got a gift that is second to none," Greene said. "She knows how to turn it on and turn it off. She's got that thing that only comes from within. I'm not surprised that she was named Big Ten Athlete of the Championships. Her performance was far above almost every female competing in the championship."
Charlton's 100m dash title was the second of her career and came with a wind-legal school-record time of 11.31 seconds. Her 100m hurdles time was a windy (+3.6) 12.67 seconds, which is tied for second among qualifying marks in the country this year. She was also fifth in the 200m dash, her fourth event of the day Sunday.
Greene is the second Purdue women's head coach to take home the women's Big Ten Coach of the Year honors outdoors. He joins Ben Paolillo, who won the award in 1999 after leading the women's team to the Big Ten title that year.
Charlton is the fifth Purdue woman to win an outdoor Athlete of the Championships award and the first to do so with the track distinction. Dani Bunch was the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Championships in 2014 for her efforts in the shot put and hammer throw, while Kara Patterson earned the Field Athlete of the Championships for her work in the javelin in 2008. Angela Craft was the Big Ten Athlete of the Championships in 2001, before the conference designated separate awards for track and field athletes, while Corissa Yasen was Big Ten Athlete of the Championships in 1995.
Charlton's award adds to a historic season which has also seen her win the indoor Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Track Athlete of the Championships awards. She earned first team All-America honors indoors with the 60m hurdles after finishing second in the country. This year alone, Charlton has five Big Ten gold medals, including the three from over the weekend.
Greene has led the Boilermakers to their highest outdoor program ranking in history at No. 15, which the team has been ranked twice this season. This week, the team checks in at No. 16 nationally. He also has led the women's team to the top overall ranking in the Great Lakes Region in every poll, indoors and out, since the beginning of the year. Greene's women scored 133 points at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, which is second in program history, behind only the 1999 championship team's 143 points. That year, the conference had three fewer teams.
The Boilermakers now prepare for the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. The official draws will be announced later this week.
Men's Track Athlete of the Championships
Malachy Schrobilgen, Wisconsin
Men's Field Athlete of the Championships
Malik Moffett, Penn State
Men's Coach of the Year
JOHN GONDAK, PENN STATE
Men's Sportsmanship Honorees
Jonathan Wells, Illinois
Jordan Huntoon, Indiana
Avery Myers, Iowa
TJ Bleichner, Maryland
Ned Willig, Michigan
David Washington, Michigan State
Nick Bachinski, Minnesota
Wyatt McGuire, Nebraska
Champ Page, Ohio State
Jon Yohman, Penn State
Obokhare Ikpefan, Purdue
Tom Carr, Rutgers
Sawyer Smith, Wisconsin
Women's Track Athlete of the Championships
Devynne Charlton, PURDUE
Women's Field Athlete of the Championships
Sydney Clute, Indiana
Women's Coach of the Year
ROLANDO GREENE, PURDUE
Women's Sportsmanship Honorees
Morgan Schulz, Illinois
Khayla Dawson, Indiana
Andie Shine, Iowa
Alexandra Lucki, Maryland
Gina McNamara, Michigan
Shelby Jackson, Michigan State
Erin Huls, Minnesota
Brittni Wolczyk, Nebraska
Rachel Weber, Ohio State
Maddie Holmberg, Penn State
Devynne Charlton, Purdue
Katherine Johnston, Rutgers
Banke Oginni, Wisconsin
UNANIMOUS SELECTIONS IN ALL CAPS