GENEVA, Ohio – Sophomore pole vaulter Jessica Bray won a silver medal and was one of five Purdue student-athletes to earn top-eight finishes in the finals on the opening day of the 2020 Big Ten Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
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The five point-earning Boilermakers on day one were joined by 16 student-athletes that earned a berth in tomorrow's finals and 11 that earned marks that rank in the top 10 in the Purdue record book.
"The thing about any championship competition is to advance, and I thought we did a really good job of that today," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "I am particularly proud of our women's team. Going in, we weren't expecting on paper to have anyone make the finals in the 60-meter hurdles, we had two advance, we weren't expecting anyone to make the finals in the 200-meters, we had advance. We had one make the finals in the 60-meter dash and another in the 600-meters, and we weren't ranked in those events as well. So, across the board we had some really good marks. Jessica Bray finished second in the pole vault, we scored points in the distance medley relay and we had two who scored in the long jump. Additionally, those that didn't place had really good personal-best marks. So, I was really proud of the women.
"The men, on paper, look pretty good, and we held true to form with that today. All in all, today could not have been any better and I was really proud of the effort that everyone put out today. The Big Ten Conference is really strong and powerful, so you want to have some bragging rights. The men are sitting pretty good heading into tomorrow and the women on paper weren't looking as good as they are now, so I'm really proud of that. A really excellent first day, I'd say."
Bray earned a mark of 4.15 meters to finish second overall in the women's pole vault. The silver medal is the first conference medal of Bray's career and Purdue's top finish in the event since 2007 when Mallory Peck won gold.
The Boilermakers earned a pair of top-eight finishes in the women's long jump, thanks to seniors Asia Young and Jaden Mattox. Young placed fifth overall, with a mark of 5.88 meters, while Mattox was eighth, with a jump of 5.82 meters.
Senior Jaret Carpenter notched a seventh-place finish in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:18.21 to collect the first points for the men's squad.
In the pentathlon, senior Rebecca Coan finished eighth overall with 4,023 points. Coan is the fourth Boilermaker in program history to earn more than 4,000 points in the event, as her 4,023 is fourth-most in program history. Coan's day included personal-best times in the 60-meter hurdles (8.70 seconds) and 800-meter run (2:17.82).
The 200-meter dash saw four Boilermakers qualify for the finals and five earn top-10 times in program history. In the women's event, freshman Kerris Roberts finished in 23.81, the fifth-fastest time in Purdue history, sophomore Camille Christopher finished in 23.98, the eighth-fastest time in the school record book, and sophomore Jae'Nisa Heckstall had the 10th-fastest time, in 24.25. Roberts and Christopher placed in the top eight overall in the prelims and will race in tomorrow's final.
For the men, senior Samson Colebrooke notched the top prelims time (20.80), and he will be joined in the finals by freshman Marcellus Moore (21.01). Colebrooke and Moore posted top-10 times in team history, with the third and fourth-fastest times, respectively.
Four student-athletes earned finals appearances in the 60-meter dash. Senior Waseem Williams had the fastest prelims time, 6.66 seconds, while Moore was third-fastest with a time of 6.70 seconds. Colebrooke also advanced to the finals thanks to a finish in 6.72 seconds. Moore's time is tied for fifth-fastest in school history, while Williams and Colebrooke already own top-10 times.
In the women's 60-meter dash, senior Sekayi Bracey earned a finals appearance with a prelims finish of 7.48 seconds.
Heckstall and fellow sophomore Amaya Chadwick both tallied two of the fastest 60-meter hurdles times in school history and advanced to the finals. Chadwick's time of 8.34 seconds is fifth-fastest in Purdue history, while Heckstall's 8.48 is ninth.
Freshman Ella Robinson entered the Boilermaker record book for the first time in her career and advanced to the finals in the 600-meter run. She finished in 1:30.71, which is ranked No. 7 in program history.
Purdue will have a representative in both of the 400-meter dash events. Senior Samara Miller earned a finals appearance for the women, in 54.51 seconds, while Brian Faust advanced to the men's finals in 46.66 seconds.
Freshman Jayla Ellis joined Coan in the pentathlon. Her first Big Ten Championships appearance was highlighted by a time of 8.55 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, which is the 10th-fastest time in the event in program history.
Finally, senior Brody Smith qualified for the men's mile final.
The first four events of the heptathlon were held on Friday. Sophomore Isaiah Martin is in fourth place overall with three events remaining. His first day was highlighted by three personal-record marks, in the 60-meter dash (7.19 seconds), the high jump (1.94 meters) and the shot put (13.92 meters).
Additionally, several personal-best marks were set or tied today, by Bracey (24.44, 200-meter), sophomores Justin Becker (21.49, 200-meter), Vivette Green (24.34, 200-meter) and Garrett Lee (7.33, heptathlon 60-meter) and freshmen Simi Akinrinsola (16.36 meters, weight throw), Jabari Bryant (48.85, 400-meter) and Johann Matzal (1:55.82, 800-meter).
The Big Ten Championships concludes tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET. Live results can be found at LightningTiming.com, while fans can watch the meet on BTN+ or FloTrack. Additional information, including the complete meet schedule, digital program and ticket information is available at the Big Ten's Championship Central page at bigten.org/itfchamps. Updates and behind-the-scenes news and notes on the Boilermakers throughout the weekend 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 | Photo Gallery
Live Results | Watch Live: BTN+, FloTrack | Championship Central | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The five point-earning Boilermakers on day one were joined by 16 student-athletes that earned a berth in tomorrow's finals and 11 that earned marks that rank in the top 10 in the Purdue record book.
"The thing about any championship competition is to advance, and I thought we did a really good job of that today," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "I am particularly proud of our women's team. Going in, we weren't expecting on paper to have anyone make the finals in the 60-meter hurdles, we had two advance, we weren't expecting anyone to make the finals in the 200-meters, we had advance. We had one make the finals in the 60-meter dash and another in the 600-meters, and we weren't ranked in those events as well. So, across the board we had some really good marks. Jessica Bray finished second in the pole vault, we scored points in the distance medley relay and we had two who scored in the long jump. Additionally, those that didn't place had really good personal-best marks. So, I was really proud of the women.
"The men, on paper, look pretty good, and we held true to form with that today. All in all, today could not have been any better and I was really proud of the effort that everyone put out today. The Big Ten Conference is really strong and powerful, so you want to have some bragging rights. The men are sitting pretty good heading into tomorrow and the women on paper weren't looking as good as they are now, so I'm really proud of that. A really excellent first day, I'd say."
Bray earned a mark of 4.15 meters to finish second overall in the women's pole vault. The silver medal is the first conference medal of Bray's career and Purdue's top finish in the event since 2007 when Mallory Peck won gold.
The Boilermakers earned a pair of top-eight finishes in the women's long jump, thanks to seniors Asia Young and Jaden Mattox. Young placed fifth overall, with a mark of 5.88 meters, while Mattox was eighth, with a jump of 5.82 meters.
Senior Jaret Carpenter notched a seventh-place finish in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:18.21 to collect the first points for the men's squad.
In the pentathlon, senior Rebecca Coan finished eighth overall with 4,023 points. Coan is the fourth Boilermaker in program history to earn more than 4,000 points in the event, as her 4,023 is fourth-most in program history. Coan's day included personal-best times in the 60-meter hurdles (8.70 seconds) and 800-meter run (2:17.82).
The 200-meter dash saw four Boilermakers qualify for the finals and five earn top-10 times in program history. In the women's event, freshman Kerris Roberts finished in 23.81, the fifth-fastest time in Purdue history, sophomore Camille Christopher finished in 23.98, the eighth-fastest time in the school record book, and sophomore Jae'Nisa Heckstall had the 10th-fastest time, in 24.25. Roberts and Christopher placed in the top eight overall in the prelims and will race in tomorrow's final.
For the men, senior Samson Colebrooke notched the top prelims time (20.80), and he will be joined in the finals by freshman Marcellus Moore (21.01). Colebrooke and Moore posted top-10 times in team history, with the third and fourth-fastest times, respectively.
Four student-athletes earned finals appearances in the 60-meter dash. Senior Waseem Williams had the fastest prelims time, 6.66 seconds, while Moore was third-fastest with a time of 6.70 seconds. Colebrooke also advanced to the finals thanks to a finish in 6.72 seconds. Moore's time is tied for fifth-fastest in school history, while Williams and Colebrooke already own top-10 times.
In the women's 60-meter dash, senior Sekayi Bracey earned a finals appearance with a prelims finish of 7.48 seconds.
Heckstall and fellow sophomore Amaya Chadwick both tallied two of the fastest 60-meter hurdles times in school history and advanced to the finals. Chadwick's time of 8.34 seconds is fifth-fastest in Purdue history, while Heckstall's 8.48 is ninth.
Freshman Ella Robinson entered the Boilermaker record book for the first time in her career and advanced to the finals in the 600-meter run. She finished in 1:30.71, which is ranked No. 7 in program history.
Purdue will have a representative in both of the 400-meter dash events. Senior Samara Miller earned a finals appearance for the women, in 54.51 seconds, while Brian Faust advanced to the men's finals in 46.66 seconds.
Freshman Jayla Ellis joined Coan in the pentathlon. Her first Big Ten Championships appearance was highlighted by a time of 8.55 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, which is the 10th-fastest time in the event in program history.
Finally, senior Brody Smith qualified for the men's mile final.
The first four events of the heptathlon were held on Friday. Sophomore Isaiah Martin is in fourth place overall with three events remaining. His first day was highlighted by three personal-record marks, in the 60-meter dash (7.19 seconds), the high jump (1.94 meters) and the shot put (13.92 meters).
Additionally, several personal-best marks were set or tied today, by Bracey (24.44, 200-meter), sophomores Justin Becker (21.49, 200-meter), Vivette Green (24.34, 200-meter) and Garrett Lee (7.33, heptathlon 60-meter) and freshmen Simi Akinrinsola (16.36 meters, weight throw), Jabari Bryant (48.85, 400-meter) and Johann Matzal (1:55.82, 800-meter).
The Big Ten Championships concludes tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET. Live results can be found at LightningTiming.com, while fans can watch the meet on BTN+ or FloTrack. Additional information, including the complete meet schedule, digital program and ticket information is available at the Big Ten's Championship Central page at bigten.org/itfchamps. Updates and behind-the-scenes news and notes on the Boilermakers throughout the weekend 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.