BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Junior Alexis Zatta and sophomore Johnny Vanos each earned their second victories in as many weeks as the Purdue track & field team competed at the Gladstein Invitational on Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana.
Zatta claimed the high jump title and Vanos won the weight throw while the Boilermakers added four second-place finishes in their second meet of the season. Purdue faced Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State at IU's Gladstein Fieldhouse.
"Today was a day to really test our metal," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We actually left campus at six this morning to begin competing at 10, which is really less than ideal, but today was a day to test our character and our ability to perform under less than ideal circumstances. Overall, we passed the test. We had some good marks, but nothing to ring home about. With the pandemic, we're going to face some situations that aren't normal, and that was the lesson to the team today during a meet that wasn't normal. Overall, we had some good performances. I encourage our kids to learn something from each competition, and that was certainly the case today. They learned to rise to the occasion and compete. It was difficult to wake up early, drive to the meet, get off the bus and compete, but today was a good learning experience."
Along with the two wins and four runners-up, Purdue student-athletes tallied four third-place finishes and earned three personal-record marks. The Boilermakers had 15 women compete in nine events, while eight men competed in seven total events. Six made their collegiate debuts.
Zatta's victory came in the high jump, where she earned a winning mark of 1.73 meters, while Vanos' win was in the weight throw with a throw of 19.61 meters. Zatta and Vanos also won their respective events in last Saturday's season-opening meet.
Vanos and senior Jalil Brewer each notched top-four finishes in the shot put. Brewer was second, with a throw of 18.29 meters, while Vanos placed fourth (15.37m).
The Boilermakers claimed three of the top five finishes in the 200, led by sophomore Kerris Roberts, who was second in 24.36 seconds. She finished ahead of fellow sophomore Saran Kouyeth (3rd, 25.10), while freshman K'Ja Talley finished fifth (25.41) overall and first in her heat.
Roberts added a third-place finish in the 60-meter dash, in 7.61. Kouyeth also was sixth (7.86) in the event and freshman Cierra Williams was seventh (7.98) as she made her collegiate debut.
A week after sophomore Jayla Ellis and Talley ran the 10th-fastest 60-meter hurdles time in school history, Ellis followed it up with a second-place finish in the event on Saturday. Her time of 8.55 seconds is tied for her second-fastest, just behind her mark of 8.52 set last weekend. Talley also ran an 8.89 to finish sixth.
Freshman Jahn Riley made his collegiate debut and earned a pair of top-four finishes. He was second in the 600, with a time of 1:24.25, and finished fourth in the 60-meter dash (7.02) in his first race as a Boilermaker.
Along with Zatta in the high jump, sophomore My'Khiyah Williams made her collegiate debut and finished fourth (1.65), while junior Mackenzie Barrett had a personal-best jump of 1.65 meters.
Junior Ife Oketona competed in the long jump, where he was third with a mark of 6.76 meters.
A pair of sophomores, Simi Akinrinsola and Kaia Harris, set personal-best scores in the weight throw. Akinrinsola was third overall with a throw of 17.69 meters to break her PR by 1.33 meters, and Harris was fifth (15.22). Akinrinsola added a fifth-place finish in the shot put (13.89m), just behind sophomore teammate Amaya King, who was fourth with a throw of 14.63 meters.
Sophomore Anna Maria Leszczynska and junior Isaiah Martin each earned fourth-place marks. Leszczynska's came in the 600 (1:37.11), and Martin was fourth in the 60-hurdles finals (8.30).
Additionally, sophomore Ella Robinson was sixth in the 800 (2:16.46) and sophomore Lindsay Absher was eighth in the pole vault (3.47m).
A trio of Boilermakers made their collegiate debuts in the 3,000, as freshmen Geno Christofanelli (11th, 8:34.77) and Caleb Williams (13th, 8:38.33) and sophomore William White (15th, 8:44.77) donned the old gold and black in competition for the first time.
Up next, Purdue's distance runners will compete for a conference title next weekend at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships. The meet is set for Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelbyville, Indiana. The women's 6k race is set for 12:30 p.m. ET, and the men's 8k race will begin at 2 p.m.
Additionally, the Boilermaker's multi-event student-athletes will compete at Illinois on Saturday.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Zatta claimed the high jump title and Vanos won the weight throw while the Boilermakers added four second-place finishes in their second meet of the season. Purdue faced Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State at IU's Gladstein Fieldhouse.
"Today was a day to really test our metal," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We actually left campus at six this morning to begin competing at 10, which is really less than ideal, but today was a day to test our character and our ability to perform under less than ideal circumstances. Overall, we passed the test. We had some good marks, but nothing to ring home about. With the pandemic, we're going to face some situations that aren't normal, and that was the lesson to the team today during a meet that wasn't normal. Overall, we had some good performances. I encourage our kids to learn something from each competition, and that was certainly the case today. They learned to rise to the occasion and compete. It was difficult to wake up early, drive to the meet, get off the bus and compete, but today was a good learning experience."
Along with the two wins and four runners-up, Purdue student-athletes tallied four third-place finishes and earned three personal-record marks. The Boilermakers had 15 women compete in nine events, while eight men competed in seven total events. Six made their collegiate debuts.
Zatta's victory came in the high jump, where she earned a winning mark of 1.73 meters, while Vanos' win was in the weight throw with a throw of 19.61 meters. Zatta and Vanos also won their respective events in last Saturday's season-opening meet.
Vanos and senior Jalil Brewer each notched top-four finishes in the shot put. Brewer was second, with a throw of 18.29 meters, while Vanos placed fourth (15.37m).
The Boilermakers claimed three of the top five finishes in the 200, led by sophomore Kerris Roberts, who was second in 24.36 seconds. She finished ahead of fellow sophomore Saran Kouyeth (3rd, 25.10), while freshman K'Ja Talley finished fifth (25.41) overall and first in her heat.
Roberts added a third-place finish in the 60-meter dash, in 7.61. Kouyeth also was sixth (7.86) in the event and freshman Cierra Williams was seventh (7.98) as she made her collegiate debut.
A week after sophomore Jayla Ellis and Talley ran the 10th-fastest 60-meter hurdles time in school history, Ellis followed it up with a second-place finish in the event on Saturday. Her time of 8.55 seconds is tied for her second-fastest, just behind her mark of 8.52 set last weekend. Talley also ran an 8.89 to finish sixth.
Freshman Jahn Riley made his collegiate debut and earned a pair of top-four finishes. He was second in the 600, with a time of 1:24.25, and finished fourth in the 60-meter dash (7.02) in his first race as a Boilermaker.
Along with Zatta in the high jump, sophomore My'Khiyah Williams made her collegiate debut and finished fourth (1.65), while junior Mackenzie Barrett had a personal-best jump of 1.65 meters.
Junior Ife Oketona competed in the long jump, where he was third with a mark of 6.76 meters.
A pair of sophomores, Simi Akinrinsola and Kaia Harris, set personal-best scores in the weight throw. Akinrinsola was third overall with a throw of 17.69 meters to break her PR by 1.33 meters, and Harris was fifth (15.22). Akinrinsola added a fifth-place finish in the shot put (13.89m), just behind sophomore teammate Amaya King, who was fourth with a throw of 14.63 meters.
Sophomore Anna Maria Leszczynska and junior Isaiah Martin each earned fourth-place marks. Leszczynska's came in the 600 (1:37.11), and Martin was fourth in the 60-hurdles finals (8.30).
Additionally, sophomore Ella Robinson was sixth in the 800 (2:16.46) and sophomore Lindsay Absher was eighth in the pole vault (3.47m).
A trio of Boilermakers made their collegiate debuts in the 3,000, as freshmen Geno Christofanelli (11th, 8:34.77) and Caleb Williams (13th, 8:38.33) and sophomore William White (15th, 8:44.77) donned the old gold and black in competition for the first time.
Up next, Purdue's distance runners will compete for a conference title next weekend at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships. The meet is set for Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelbyville, Indiana. The women's 6k race is set for 12:30 p.m. ET, and the men's 8k race will begin at 2 p.m.
Additionally, the Boilermaker's multi-event student-athletes will compete at Illinois on Saturday.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.