CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Sophomore Isaiah Martin broke the Purdue track & field decathlon record and finished fourth overall as one of five Boilermakers to score in the top-eight on Saturday at the 2021 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Champaign, Illinois.
Martin's record, the second school record to fall in less than 24 hours, was one of three top-10 marks set by Purdue on the second day of competition at Illinois' Gary R. Wieneke Track at Demirjian Park. Additionally, Martin and his teammates totaled five top-eight podium finishes on Saturday. Six Boilermakers also advanced to the finals in their events, and 12 personal-best marks were set.
"All in all, I thought today was a really solid day," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "I want to highlight Isaiah Martin, not only finishing fourth overall but establishing a new school record. That record had been around for quite some time, and the competition was the most hotly-contested competition in many, many, years, I don't think there will be another conference that produces as many 7,000-point scorers as the Big Ten did, and today compared to many NCAA Championships. Kudos to Isaiah for 10 solid performances across the board. Jalil Brewer in his second event, not his marquee event, scored big, he finished sixth in the discus. I'm looking forward to seeing him duplicate that in the shot put tomorrow. In the long jump, LJ Hill looked really good and finished seventh. Marcellus Moore and Samson Colebrooke also made the final in the 100 to round out the day for the men."
"On the women's side, I was quite pleased that we had a finals qualifier in the 100 hurdles, K'Ja Talley, we had two qualify in the 400, Samara Miller and Cierra Williams, and Camille Christopher advanced in the 100, so that really bodes well for us. Rebecca Coan was seventh in the heptathlon, and in the long jump, Jaden Mattox was fourth, so the women are doing quite well, and I'm really happy for them."
In addition to Martin's record-breaking performance, seniors Rebecca Coan and Jaden Mattox, junior Jalil Brewer and freshman LJ Hill placed in the top eight in their events. Two freshmen, K'Ja Talley and Cierra Williams, joined Martin with top-10 marks in program history. Talley, Williams, seniors Samson Colebrooke and Samara Miller, sophomore Camille Christopher and freshman Marcellus Moore also ran qualifying times and advanced to tomorrow's finals.
"Tomorrow will be another exciting day for both the men and women," Elliott added. "It's going to be a really big day for us. Those athletes that didn't qualify also had solid performances today, so I'm pleased with everyone's effort, grit, determination and tenacity. That's what we've been preaching the entire time, 'go out there, have fun and just give it all you've got,' and yesterday and today they've shown that they're not holding back and giving it their all, and that's all you can ask for."
Martin scored 7,708 points in the decathlon to break the Purdue record of 7,584, set by Jon Pergande in 1995. He placed fourth overall in the event that is arguably the toughest decathlon conference championship field in the country. Nine of the top 10 competitors notched career-best marks, and Martin's 7,708 points is sixth-best nationally.
After he recorded two personal-best marks and a season-best time on Friday, Martin added two more collegiate-bests marks, in the discus (41.45m) and javelin (62.27m), and a season-best time in the 1,500 (4:41.85) to conclude the day. Martin, who is the third Boilermaker to ever top 7,000 points in the decathlon and the only one since 1998, did it for the third time in his career on Saturday.
Mattox earned a top-four finish in the long jump outdoors for the second consecutive conference championships with a season-best jump of 6.05 meters. The mark came on her third attempt and gave the senior a fourth-place finish.
Brewer was sixth in the discus with a personal-best throw of 54.07 meters. The mark was more than three meters better than his previous PR and 0.61 shy of a spot on Purdue's top-10 list.
In the heptathlon, Coan backed up a strong opening day with an equally-impressive second day of competition. She finished seventh overall with a personal-best 5,177 points to surpass 5,000 for the first time in her career. Coan had a PR in the javelin (29.96m) and a season-best in the 800 (2:24.07) after she had three career-record marks in four events on Friday.
Hill was seventh overall in the long jump with a mark of 7.29 meters. The personal-best jump came on his third attempt, which propelled him into the finals.
Talley and Williams each ran finals-qualifying times and etched their names in the Purdue record books in the process. Talley was sixth overall in the 100 hurdles in 13.55, the ninth-fastest time in school history.
Williams' time came in the 400, where she finished in 53.70, fourth-fastest overall. The time, which was the fastest non-automatic-qualifying mark in the prelims, is No. 10 in team history. Williams will be joined by Miller in the final, who advanced with the ninth-fastest time in 54.59.
Two Boilermakers reached the men's 100 final, as Colebrooke and Moore each advanced after winning their heats. Colebrooke ran the second-fastest prelim time, 10.32, which would be No. 7 in team history if he didn't already hold the No. 3 mark. Moore was fifth overall in 10.42 seconds.
A day after she qualified for the 200 final with the seventh-fastest time in program history, Christopher advanced to the 100 final with what would be a top-10 time. The sophomore finished in 11.72, which was fifth overall in prelims. It would be the No. 10 time in the Boilermaker record books if Christopher wasn't already at No. 6.
Also on Saturday, sophomore Justin Becker (10.60 in the 100) and freshmen Jayla Ellis (13.82 in the 100 hurdles), Nikia Smith (13.94 in the 100 hurdles) and Johnny Vanos (51.22m in the discus) recorded personal-best marks.
The 2021 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships concludes on Sunday, May 16, with field events at noon ET / 11 a.m. CT and running events at 1:45 p.m. ET / 12:45 p.m. CT.
Fans can follow all the action with live results, free live streams on BTN+ of both track and field events, and the event schedule. Direct links are available on the track & field schedule page on PurdueSports.com/TrackField and on the Big Ten's Championships Central page. Additional updates can be found by following the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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.
Martin's record, the second school record to fall in less than 24 hours, was one of three top-10 marks set by Purdue on the second day of competition at Illinois' Gary R. Wieneke Track at Demirjian Park. Additionally, Martin and his teammates totaled five top-eight podium finishes on Saturday. Six Boilermakers also advanced to the finals in their events, and 12 personal-best marks were set.
"All in all, I thought today was a really solid day," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "I want to highlight Isaiah Martin, not only finishing fourth overall but establishing a new school record. That record had been around for quite some time, and the competition was the most hotly-contested competition in many, many, years, I don't think there will be another conference that produces as many 7,000-point scorers as the Big Ten did, and today compared to many NCAA Championships. Kudos to Isaiah for 10 solid performances across the board. Jalil Brewer in his second event, not his marquee event, scored big, he finished sixth in the discus. I'm looking forward to seeing him duplicate that in the shot put tomorrow. In the long jump, LJ Hill looked really good and finished seventh. Marcellus Moore and Samson Colebrooke also made the final in the 100 to round out the day for the men."
"On the women's side, I was quite pleased that we had a finals qualifier in the 100 hurdles, K'Ja Talley, we had two qualify in the 400, Samara Miller and Cierra Williams, and Camille Christopher advanced in the 100, so that really bodes well for us. Rebecca Coan was seventh in the heptathlon, and in the long jump, Jaden Mattox was fourth, so the women are doing quite well, and I'm really happy for them."
In addition to Martin's record-breaking performance, seniors Rebecca Coan and Jaden Mattox, junior Jalil Brewer and freshman LJ Hill placed in the top eight in their events. Two freshmen, K'Ja Talley and Cierra Williams, joined Martin with top-10 marks in program history. Talley, Williams, seniors Samson Colebrooke and Samara Miller, sophomore Camille Christopher and freshman Marcellus Moore also ran qualifying times and advanced to tomorrow's finals.
"Tomorrow will be another exciting day for both the men and women," Elliott added. "It's going to be a really big day for us. Those athletes that didn't qualify also had solid performances today, so I'm pleased with everyone's effort, grit, determination and tenacity. That's what we've been preaching the entire time, 'go out there, have fun and just give it all you've got,' and yesterday and today they've shown that they're not holding back and giving it their all, and that's all you can ask for."
Martin scored 7,708 points in the decathlon to break the Purdue record of 7,584, set by Jon Pergande in 1995. He placed fourth overall in the event that is arguably the toughest decathlon conference championship field in the country. Nine of the top 10 competitors notched career-best marks, and Martin's 7,708 points is sixth-best nationally.
After he recorded two personal-best marks and a season-best time on Friday, Martin added two more collegiate-bests marks, in the discus (41.45m) and javelin (62.27m), and a season-best time in the 1,500 (4:41.85) to conclude the day. Martin, who is the third Boilermaker to ever top 7,000 points in the decathlon and the only one since 1998, did it for the third time in his career on Saturday.
It's a great feeling when you break a 26-year-old school record and place 4th in the most competitive decathlon conference championship in the country! 😎#BoilerUp 🚂 #B1GTF pic.twitter.com/2yS0VjRyzd
— Purdue Track & Field / Cross Country (@PurdueTrackXC) May 16, 2021
Mattox earned a top-four finish in the long jump outdoors for the second consecutive conference championships with a season-best jump of 6.05 meters. The mark came on her third attempt and gave the senior a fourth-place finish.
Brewer was sixth in the discus with a personal-best throw of 54.07 meters. The mark was more than three meters better than his previous PR and 0.61 shy of a spot on Purdue's top-10 list.
In the heptathlon, Coan backed up a strong opening day with an equally-impressive second day of competition. She finished seventh overall with a personal-best 5,177 points to surpass 5,000 for the first time in her career. Coan had a PR in the javelin (29.96m) and a season-best in the 800 (2:24.07) after she had three career-record marks in four events on Friday.
Hill was seventh overall in the long jump with a mark of 7.29 meters. The personal-best jump came on his third attempt, which propelled him into the finals.
Talley and Williams each ran finals-qualifying times and etched their names in the Purdue record books in the process. Talley was sixth overall in the 100 hurdles in 13.55, the ninth-fastest time in school history.
Williams' time came in the 400, where she finished in 53.70, fourth-fastest overall. The time, which was the fastest non-automatic-qualifying mark in the prelims, is No. 10 in team history. Williams will be joined by Miller in the final, who advanced with the ninth-fastest time in 54.59.
Two Boilermakers reached the men's 100 final, as Colebrooke and Moore each advanced after winning their heats. Colebrooke ran the second-fastest prelim time, 10.32, which would be No. 7 in team history if he didn't already hold the No. 3 mark. Moore was fifth overall in 10.42 seconds.
A day after she qualified for the 200 final with the seventh-fastest time in program history, Christopher advanced to the 100 final with what would be a top-10 time. The sophomore finished in 11.72, which was fifth overall in prelims. It would be the No. 10 time in the Boilermaker record books if Christopher wasn't already at No. 6.
Also on Saturday, sophomore Justin Becker (10.60 in the 100) and freshmen Jayla Ellis (13.82 in the 100 hurdles), Nikia Smith (13.94 in the 100 hurdles) and Johnny Vanos (51.22m in the discus) recorded personal-best marks.
The 2021 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships concludes on Sunday, May 16, with field events at noon ET / 11 a.m. CT and running events at 1:45 p.m. ET / 12:45 p.m. CT.
Fans can follow all the action with live results, free live streams on BTN+ of both track and field events, and the event schedule. Direct links are available on the track & field schedule page on PurdueSports.com/TrackField and on the Big Ten's Championships Central page. Additional updates can be found by following the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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.