WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – On the opening day of the Gene Edmonds Memorial Invitational, the Purdue track & field team set or tied 19 personal records and notched three top-10 marks in program history as part of a strong start to the two-day meet at Lambert Fieldhouse on Friday evening.
Friday Results
In a 13-team field, the Boilermakers earned seven first-place finishes and added seven second-place showings, along with a sweep of the top two spots in the women's pentathlon. The 21 events on the meet's first day included eight running events, five field events and nine events as part of the heptathlon and pentathlon.
"Across the board, we did really well," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "Rebecca Coan and the pentathlon did a really good job, Samson Colebrooke in the 60-meter, and in fact the whole slew of sprinters, did really well today. I was really proud of their effort, we ran two rounds today, so they showed a lot of consistency, which shows they're in good shape. We're not sharp yet, but we're fit. When you can run and perform at a consistent level, that's pretty good. We had a really good showing in the 600, with Jabari Bryant and Johann Matzal, so some really good stuff to build off of and some encouraging marks, so I am pleased."
Senior Rebecca Coan won the pentathlon with a personal-best total of 3,851 points, fifth-most in program history. Coan is the fifth Boilermaker to eclipse 3,800 points in the event in team history and the first since 2001. In her pentathlon debut, freshman Jayla Ellis was second, with 3,617 points.
Coan finished first in two of the five events, the high jump (1.66m) and 800-meter run (2:23.34), and was second in the long jump with a personal-best mark of 5.50 meters. Ellis set a PR and won the long jump (5.52m) and added a personal record in the shot put (11.12m) while making her collegiate debut in the high jump (3rd, 1.57m) and 800-meter (4th, 2:32.88).
Along with Coan's appearance in the Purdue record books, senior Samson Colebrooke and sophomore Noah McBride added their names while leading a dominant showing in the 60-meter dash semifinals. The Boilermakers advanced four to tomorrow's finals and set or tied four personal-best times in the 16-runner semifinals. Colebrooke finished first overall with a time of 6.65, tying his personal record that is tied for the third-fastest time in team history. McBride was fifth overall, and his time of 6.79 is tied for the 10th-fastest in program history. Senior Waseem Williams finished second overall in the semifinals (6.69) and sophomore Justin Becker was seventh (6.81), with a PR. Both will join Colebrooke and McBride in the finals.
Three advanced to the finals in the women's 60-meter dash, as senior Sekayi Bracey placed fifth in the semifinals (7.60), freshman Kaylah Lumsden was seventh (7.63) and freshman Saran Kouyeth finished eighth overall (7.63). Lumsden's time tied her personal record set earlier in the day in the prelims, while Kouyeth's semifinal mark was a PR after she made her career debut in the event in the prelims.
A pair of sophomores earned a berth in the 60-meter hurdle finals. Dainon Wray earned the top time for the men in the prelims with a personal-best 8.15, and Jae'Nisa Heckstall led the women with an 8.66 to finish third overall in the prelims.
The men and women each recorded second-place finishes in the 600-meter run, thanks to a pair of freshmen. For the women, Anna Maria Leszczynska earned a personal-best time of 1:35.07, while it was Jabari Bryant's 1:23.40 that led the men.
Freshman Johnny Vanos paced Purdue's day in field events, as he finished second in the men's weight throw with a mark of 17.67 meters.
Through four events of the men's heptathlon, sophomore Isaiah Martin is in third place with 2,986 points. He was first in the long jump (7.25) and added a third-place finish and two fourth-place marks.
Purdue is hosting in-state foes Ball State, Butler, Calumet College of St. Joseph and IUPUI, along with Alabama State, Austin Peay, the University of The Bahamas, Lindenwood, Louisville, Maryville, Northwestern, Southeast Missouri State and UW Milwaukee.
The Gene Edmonds Memorial Invite concludes tomorrow, with action set for 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET. A complete schedule of events is available on PurdueSports.com. Admission is free, and all fans can pick up the 2019-20 Purdue track & field schedule poster. Free Purdue water bottles will be given out to fans while supplies last.
For fans unable to cheer on the Boilermakers in person, live stats will be available at PTTiming.com, and updates also can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
For more on the Purdue track and field team, visit PurdueSports.com and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Friday Results
In a 13-team field, the Boilermakers earned seven first-place finishes and added seven second-place showings, along with a sweep of the top two spots in the women's pentathlon. The 21 events on the meet's first day included eight running events, five field events and nine events as part of the heptathlon and pentathlon.
"Across the board, we did really well," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "Rebecca Coan and the pentathlon did a really good job, Samson Colebrooke in the 60-meter, and in fact the whole slew of sprinters, did really well today. I was really proud of their effort, we ran two rounds today, so they showed a lot of consistency, which shows they're in good shape. We're not sharp yet, but we're fit. When you can run and perform at a consistent level, that's pretty good. We had a really good showing in the 600, with Jabari Bryant and Johann Matzal, so some really good stuff to build off of and some encouraging marks, so I am pleased."
Senior Rebecca Coan won the pentathlon with a personal-best total of 3,851 points, fifth-most in program history. Coan is the fifth Boilermaker to eclipse 3,800 points in the event in team history and the first since 2001. In her pentathlon debut, freshman Jayla Ellis was second, with 3,617 points.
Coan finished first in two of the five events, the high jump (1.66m) and 800-meter run (2:23.34), and was second in the long jump with a personal-best mark of 5.50 meters. Ellis set a PR and won the long jump (5.52m) and added a personal record in the shot put (11.12m) while making her collegiate debut in the high jump (3rd, 1.57m) and 800-meter (4th, 2:32.88).
Along with Coan's appearance in the Purdue record books, senior Samson Colebrooke and sophomore Noah McBride added their names while leading a dominant showing in the 60-meter dash semifinals. The Boilermakers advanced four to tomorrow's finals and set or tied four personal-best times in the 16-runner semifinals. Colebrooke finished first overall with a time of 6.65, tying his personal record that is tied for the third-fastest time in team history. McBride was fifth overall, and his time of 6.79 is tied for the 10th-fastest in program history. Senior Waseem Williams finished second overall in the semifinals (6.69) and sophomore Justin Becker was seventh (6.81), with a PR. Both will join Colebrooke and McBride in the finals.
Three advanced to the finals in the women's 60-meter dash, as senior Sekayi Bracey placed fifth in the semifinals (7.60), freshman Kaylah Lumsden was seventh (7.63) and freshman Saran Kouyeth finished eighth overall (7.63). Lumsden's time tied her personal record set earlier in the day in the prelims, while Kouyeth's semifinal mark was a PR after she made her career debut in the event in the prelims.
A pair of sophomores earned a berth in the 60-meter hurdle finals. Dainon Wray earned the top time for the men in the prelims with a personal-best 8.15, and Jae'Nisa Heckstall led the women with an 8.66 to finish third overall in the prelims.
The men and women each recorded second-place finishes in the 600-meter run, thanks to a pair of freshmen. For the women, Anna Maria Leszczynska earned a personal-best time of 1:35.07, while it was Jabari Bryant's 1:23.40 that led the men.
Freshman Johnny Vanos paced Purdue's day in field events, as he finished second in the men's weight throw with a mark of 17.67 meters.
Through four events of the men's heptathlon, sophomore Isaiah Martin is in third place with 2,986 points. He was first in the long jump (7.25) and added a third-place finish and two fourth-place marks.
Purdue is hosting in-state foes Ball State, Butler, Calumet College of St. Joseph and IUPUI, along with Alabama State, Austin Peay, the University of The Bahamas, Lindenwood, Louisville, Maryville, Northwestern, Southeast Missouri State and UW Milwaukee.
The Gene Edmonds Memorial Invite concludes tomorrow, with action set for 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET. A complete schedule of events is available on PurdueSports.com. Admission is free, and all fans can pick up the 2019-20 Purdue track & field schedule poster. Free Purdue water bottles will be given out to fans while supplies last.
For fans unable to cheer on the Boilermakers in person, live stats will be available at PTTiming.com, and updates also can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
For more on the Purdue track and field team, visit PurdueSports.com and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.