WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue track & field team competes at its first multi-day meet of the season when it travels to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Hawkeye Big Ten Invitational on Feb. 12-13.
The meet commences on Friday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT, and continues on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT, at the University of Iowa Recreation Building.
Fans can follow all the action with live results, a BTN+ stream on Friday and Saturday and the event schedule, available on the track & field schedule page on PurdueSports.com/TrackField. Additional meet information can be found at HawkeyeSports.com.
Purdue will compete against host-Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Twenty-five women and 21 men will represent the Boilermakers, their largest team to compete through the first five meets of the indoor campaign.
"This meet will be our biggest meet yet, we're traveling our biggest squad yet," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We're continuing to round into form, so I truly expect to have, up to this point, our best performances. This will definitely give our team a really good test. It's a good, fast, banked track, and we're excited about competing at Iowa."
Top-25 Boilermakers
In this week's team rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the Purdue men are No. 8 and the women are No. 9 in the Big Ten, while both squads are No. 9 in the Great Lakes Region. In the national rankings, the Iowa men are No. 12, Indiana's men are No. 21, the Minnesota women are No. 18 and the Wisconsin women are No. 25.
Individually, five Boilermakers have posted marks that rank in the top-25 in the NCAA this season. Seniors Curt Eckstein and Tamar Greene are both No. 14 in the nation, Eckstein in the 3,000 after his school-record time of 7:59.30 on Jan. 16 and Greene in the triple jump after a 15.80 to win the event on Feb. 6. Junior Alexis Zatta is No. 15 in the high jump, with a meet-winning mark of 1.78 to open the year. Senior Waseem Williams ran the 60 in 6.70 seconds on Feb. 6, which is No. 19 nationally, while senior Jalil Brewer checks in at No. 23 in the shot put thanks to a throw of 18.56 meters on Jan. 16.
In the Big Ten and Great Lakes Region rankings, nine women and eight men are in the top-10 in the region, while seven men and six women boast top-10 Big Ten marks. Zatta's high jump is the best in the Big Ten, while Greene's triple jump is No. 1 in the region. Brewer, Eckstein and Williams' nationally-ranked marks also are No. 2 in the conference or region.
Additionally, the men's cross country team is ranked No. 20 nationally in latest USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll.
Last Time Out: Hoosier Hills Invite
Purdue earned a pair of wins, by Greene and freshman Geno Christofanelli, at the Hoosier Hills Invitational on Feb. 6. Six personal-best marks were set and the men's and women's squads added 10 runner-up finishes as 10 Boilermakers made their collegiate or Purdue debuts.
Greene's men's triple jump victory came as he made his 2021 indoor season debut with a jump of 15.80 meters. Christofanelli won the men's 3,000 with a personal-best time of 8:23.49 to lead a 1-2-3 finish for the Boilermakers.
A complete recap of the meet can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
Purdue's Last Trip to Iowa: 2020 Larry Wieczorek Invitational
In its last trip to Iowa City, Purdue broke a school record, won eight events, helped set three meet records and notched 15 personal-best times at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational from Jan. 17-18, 2020. The Boilermaker men placed fourth out of eight teams, with 78 points, and the women were fifth, with 53 points. The men finished ahead of three top-15 squads, while the women bested one top-25 opponent.
Brody Smith and Jaret Carpenter broke the school record in the mile, as Smith placed second overall in the event with a time of 4:01.92 and Carpenter was fourth, in 4:02.65. Samson Colebrooke won two events, the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter run. Recaps from day one and day two can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
Up Next: at Indiana
Purdue faces in-state rival Indiana on Saturday, Feb. 20, at Gladstein Fieldhouse in Bloomington.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The meet commences on Friday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT, and continues on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT, at the University of Iowa Recreation Building.
Fans can follow all the action with live results, a BTN+ stream on Friday and Saturday and the event schedule, available on the track & field schedule page on PurdueSports.com/TrackField. Additional meet information can be found at HawkeyeSports.com.
Purdue will compete against host-Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Twenty-five women and 21 men will represent the Boilermakers, their largest team to compete through the first five meets of the indoor campaign.
"This meet will be our biggest meet yet, we're traveling our biggest squad yet," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We're continuing to round into form, so I truly expect to have, up to this point, our best performances. This will definitely give our team a really good test. It's a good, fast, banked track, and we're excited about competing at Iowa."
Top-25 Boilermakers
In this week's team rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the Purdue men are No. 8 and the women are No. 9 in the Big Ten, while both squads are No. 9 in the Great Lakes Region. In the national rankings, the Iowa men are No. 12, Indiana's men are No. 21, the Minnesota women are No. 18 and the Wisconsin women are No. 25.
Individually, five Boilermakers have posted marks that rank in the top-25 in the NCAA this season. Seniors Curt Eckstein and Tamar Greene are both No. 14 in the nation, Eckstein in the 3,000 after his school-record time of 7:59.30 on Jan. 16 and Greene in the triple jump after a 15.80 to win the event on Feb. 6. Junior Alexis Zatta is No. 15 in the high jump, with a meet-winning mark of 1.78 to open the year. Senior Waseem Williams ran the 60 in 6.70 seconds on Feb. 6, which is No. 19 nationally, while senior Jalil Brewer checks in at No. 23 in the shot put thanks to a throw of 18.56 meters on Jan. 16.
In the Big Ten and Great Lakes Region rankings, nine women and eight men are in the top-10 in the region, while seven men and six women boast top-10 Big Ten marks. Zatta's high jump is the best in the Big Ten, while Greene's triple jump is No. 1 in the region. Brewer, Eckstein and Williams' nationally-ranked marks also are No. 2 in the conference or region.
Additionally, the men's cross country team is ranked No. 20 nationally in latest USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll.
Last Time Out: Hoosier Hills Invite
Purdue earned a pair of wins, by Greene and freshman Geno Christofanelli, at the Hoosier Hills Invitational on Feb. 6. Six personal-best marks were set and the men's and women's squads added 10 runner-up finishes as 10 Boilermakers made their collegiate or Purdue debuts.
Greene's men's triple jump victory came as he made his 2021 indoor season debut with a jump of 15.80 meters. Christofanelli won the men's 3,000 with a personal-best time of 8:23.49 to lead a 1-2-3 finish for the Boilermakers.
A complete recap of the meet can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
Purdue's Last Trip to Iowa: 2020 Larry Wieczorek Invitational
In its last trip to Iowa City, Purdue broke a school record, won eight events, helped set three meet records and notched 15 personal-best times at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational from Jan. 17-18, 2020. The Boilermaker men placed fourth out of eight teams, with 78 points, and the women were fifth, with 53 points. The men finished ahead of three top-15 squads, while the women bested one top-25 opponent.
Brody Smith and Jaret Carpenter broke the school record in the mile, as Smith placed second overall in the event with a time of 4:01.92 and Carpenter was fourth, in 4:02.65. Samson Colebrooke won two events, the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter run. Recaps from day one and day two can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
Up Next: at Indiana
Purdue faces in-state rival Indiana on Saturday, Feb. 20, at Gladstein Fieldhouse in Bloomington.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.