WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue track & field team set three top-10 times in school history and won five events on the opening day of the Hawkeye Big Ten Opener on Friday evening in Iowa City, Iowa.
In a competitive field that featured seven other Big Ten teams, the Boilermakers' five victories were the most of any program on the meet's opening day at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Purdue also earned three runner-up finishes and three third-place finishes in its 13 events.
Purdue's top-10 marks in school history came courtesy of junior Bailey McIntire in the 5,000, sophomore Kerris Roberts in the 60-meter dash and freshman K'Ja Talley in the 60 hurdles. They were three of eight Boilermakers to record personal-best marks, while another two made their collegiate debuts on Friday.
The Boilermakers' five wins were thanks to senior Curt Eckstein in the 5,000, junior Brian Faust in the 400, sophomore Ian Hunter and freshman Payne Turney in the mile and sophomore Marcellus Moore in the 60. Turney's victory came as she made her collegiate debut.
"We had a pretty good first day, and some really good, solid performances across the board," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "That's a good sign as we continue to round into shape. Tomorrow will be a more challenging day, but we're up for that challenge, and I'm excited to see what we will do."
Along with host-Iowa, the Hawkeye Big Ten Invitational field includes Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin.
Roberts ran the seventh-fastest 60-meter dash time in school history with a 7.47 to finish third in the final. It bested her previous PR of 7.49, which also was No. 7 all-time at Purdue. Roberts reached the finals after a time of 7.51 in the prelims.
McIntire's top-10 time came thanks to a 14:13.07 in the 5,000, the eighth-fastest time in the event in program history. He placed fourth in the race, as Eckstein earned the win by 0.59 seconds with a time of 14:06.53. Eckstein's mark would rank No. 6 all-time in the event if he didn't already hold the third-fastest indoor mark.
Talley makes her appearance in Purdue's top-10 list at No. 10 with a time of 8.51 in the 60-hurdle finals. She finished fourth overall and third among collegiate competitors in the race following a time of 8.60 in the prelims.
Faust headlined Purdue's most dominant showing of the night, as he won the 400 in 47.76 to lead a 1-2-3 finish. Freshman Jahn Riley was second in 48.96, and junior Amir Harris placed third in 49.42 in his first 400 race as a Boilermaker.
Purdue swept the men's and women's open mile events thanks to Hunter and Turney. Hunter's victory came in 4:13.32, a personal-best time, and was by 1.13 seconds. As she made her collegiate debut, Turney finished in 5:05.26 to win by 1.18 seconds.
Moore notched the Boilermakers' final win of the night in the 60 finals. Making his first appearance of the season, Moore won with a time of 6.72 seconds after he also earned the fastest time in the prelims, with a 6.70.
Senior Megan Slamkowski added a 5,000 time that bested the previous facility record. She finished fourth in the event in 16:44.97 to break her personal-best time by more than 12 seconds. Slamkowski was one of four runners to eclipse the facility record of 16:47.41.
To open the meet, senior Alexis Zatta was second in the high jump with a mark of 1.68 meters. It was her fourth top-two finish in four meets to open the 2021 indoor season.
In the open 400 event, sophomore Ella Robinson was second with a personal-best time of 56.64 seconds in a close race decided by 0.01 seconds. Freshman Cierra Williams made her 400 debut and was fourth in 56.88.
Freshman LJ Hill was third in the long jump. In the final event of the meet, he earned a jump of 7.36 meters, which is a personal-best mark.
The Hawkeye Big Ten Invite concludes on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT, at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Fans can follow all the action with live results, a BTN+ stream and the event schedule, available on the track & field schedule page on PurdueSports.com/TrackField. Additional meet information can be found at HawkeyeSports.com.
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.
In a competitive field that featured seven other Big Ten teams, the Boilermakers' five victories were the most of any program on the meet's opening day at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Purdue also earned three runner-up finishes and three third-place finishes in its 13 events.
Purdue's top-10 marks in school history came courtesy of junior Bailey McIntire in the 5,000, sophomore Kerris Roberts in the 60-meter dash and freshman K'Ja Talley in the 60 hurdles. They were three of eight Boilermakers to record personal-best marks, while another two made their collegiate debuts on Friday.
The Boilermakers' five wins were thanks to senior Curt Eckstein in the 5,000, junior Brian Faust in the 400, sophomore Ian Hunter and freshman Payne Turney in the mile and sophomore Marcellus Moore in the 60. Turney's victory came as she made her collegiate debut.
"We had a pretty good first day, and some really good, solid performances across the board," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "That's a good sign as we continue to round into shape. Tomorrow will be a more challenging day, but we're up for that challenge, and I'm excited to see what we will do."
What a day!
— Purdue Track & Field / Cross Country (@PurdueTrackXC) February 13, 2021
3⃣ Top-10 Times in School History #⃣
5⃣ Wins 🥇
3⃣ Second-Place Finishes 🥈
3⃣ Third-Place Finishes 🥉
8⃣ PRs 📈
2⃣ Collegiate Debuts 🎽#BoilerUp 🚂 pic.twitter.com/ft15nnGEjw
Along with host-Iowa, the Hawkeye Big Ten Invitational field includes Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin.
Roberts ran the seventh-fastest 60-meter dash time in school history with a 7.47 to finish third in the final. It bested her previous PR of 7.49, which also was No. 7 all-time at Purdue. Roberts reached the finals after a time of 7.51 in the prelims.
McIntire's top-10 time came thanks to a 14:13.07 in the 5,000, the eighth-fastest time in the event in program history. He placed fourth in the race, as Eckstein earned the win by 0.59 seconds with a time of 14:06.53. Eckstein's mark would rank No. 6 all-time in the event if he didn't already hold the third-fastest indoor mark.
Talley makes her appearance in Purdue's top-10 list at No. 10 with a time of 8.51 in the 60-hurdle finals. She finished fourth overall and third among collegiate competitors in the race following a time of 8.60 in the prelims.
Faust headlined Purdue's most dominant showing of the night, as he won the 400 in 47.76 to lead a 1-2-3 finish. Freshman Jahn Riley was second in 48.96, and junior Amir Harris placed third in 49.42 in his first 400 race as a Boilermaker.
Purdue swept the men's and women's open mile events thanks to Hunter and Turney. Hunter's victory came in 4:13.32, a personal-best time, and was by 1.13 seconds. As she made her collegiate debut, Turney finished in 5:05.26 to win by 1.18 seconds.
Moore notched the Boilermakers' final win of the night in the 60 finals. Making his first appearance of the season, Moore won with a time of 6.72 seconds after he also earned the fastest time in the prelims, with a 6.70.
Senior Megan Slamkowski added a 5,000 time that bested the previous facility record. She finished fourth in the event in 16:44.97 to break her personal-best time by more than 12 seconds. Slamkowski was one of four runners to eclipse the facility record of 16:47.41.
To open the meet, senior Alexis Zatta was second in the high jump with a mark of 1.68 meters. It was her fourth top-two finish in four meets to open the 2021 indoor season.
In the open 400 event, sophomore Ella Robinson was second with a personal-best time of 56.64 seconds in a close race decided by 0.01 seconds. Freshman Cierra Williams made her 400 debut and was fourth in 56.88.
Freshman LJ Hill was third in the long jump. In the final event of the meet, he earned a jump of 7.36 meters, which is a personal-best mark.
The Hawkeye Big Ten Invite concludes on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT, at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Fans can follow all the action with live results, a BTN+ stream and the event schedule, available on the track & field schedule page on PurdueSports.com/TrackField. Additional meet information can be found at HawkeyeSports.com.
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.