GENEVA, Ohio – The Purdue track & field team opened competition at the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships with five top-eight podium finishes and six finals qualifiers on Thursday afternoon at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
The Boilermakers added three marks that rank in the top-10 in program history and four personal-best marks to begin the three-day conference championships meet.
"I thought today could not have gone any better for both the men's and women's teams," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We got off to a really good start with Isaiah Martin, who's currently leading the heptathlon, and it just kept on going throughout the entire day, from one event to the next. In the 200, with Marcellus Moore and Brian Faust, to the long jump with LJ Hill. Then on the women's side with Simi Akinrinsola scoring in the weight throw. It was just a beautiful day all across the board. Who didn't score had personal-best performances, and that's all you could ask for. They really gave it their all today, and it sets up things for tomorrow too, bodes well for good momentum going into tomorrow's competition."
Purdue's best finish in the finals came by senior Curt Eckstein in the 3,000, where he finished sixth overall in 8:06.24. It was a tight race to the finish, as the top seven finishers all crossed the finish line within 2.50 seconds.
Sophomore Johnny Vanos was seventh in the weight throw final with a mark of 20.06 meters, which came on his fourth throw.
In the women's weight throw, sophomore Simi Akinrinsola recorded a throw of 18.92 meters. The mark ranks No. 10 in program history in the event and was good for an eighth-place finish in the final. Akinrinsola's score came on her third throw of the afternoon.
In the men's long jump, freshman LJ Hill made his Big Ten Championships debut and placed eighth in the final. On his fifth jump, he recorded a mark of 7.20 meters.
Additionally, the women's distance medley relay was seventh with a time of 11:39.49. The finish was thanks to sophomores Emma Tate and Saran Kouyeth, freshman Payne Turney and senior Megan Slamkowski.
Through four events, junior Isaiah Martin leads the heptathlon with 3,163 points. He placed first in the long jump, with a mark of 7.25 meters, and was second in the shot put, with a throw of 13.71 meters. Both were season-best scores, and he added a 1.97m in the high jump to finish third in his final event of the day.
Senior Brian Faust and freshman K'Ja Talley both advanced to the finals in their event and added top-10 times in Purdue history in the process.
Faust's time came in the 200, where he finished in 21.10, sixth-fastest in the team record books. He was fourth overall in the prelims and first in the fifth and final heat. Sophomore Marcellus Moore also advanced in the 200 with the third-fastest prelim time. His finish of 21.09 was first in his heat and would rank No. 6 in school history if he didn't already hold the fourth-fastest time.
Talley moved up in the 60-hurdle record books with a time of 8.46 seconds, which is No. 8 all-time. Her personal-best time was fourth in the prelims. Talley will be joined in the final by freshman Nikia Smith, who ran the ninth-fastest time, in 8.62 seconds. Smith's mark is a personal-best.
Sophomore Kerris Roberts and junior Camille Christopher also advanced to the final in the 200, both with the fastest times in their heats. Roberts was third overall in 23.73 and Christopher was fifth in the prelims in 24.04.
Through four scored events, both the men and women's teams are in ninth place, with six points.
The championship continues on Friday, Feb. 26. The men are on the track from 10:30 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. ET, and the women from 4-6 p.m. The meet concludes on Saturday, Feb. 27, with the men from 11 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., and the women from 4-6:30 p.m.
Fans can follow all the action with live results, a BTN+ live stream (Friday | Saturday) and the event schedule, available on the track & field schedule page on PurdueSports.com/TrackField. Additional meet information can be found at BigTen.org/ITFChamps.
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 Boilermakers added three marks that rank in the top-10 in program history and four personal-best marks to begin the three-day conference championships meet.
"I thought today could not have gone any better for both the men's and women's teams," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We got off to a really good start with Isaiah Martin, who's currently leading the heptathlon, and it just kept on going throughout the entire day, from one event to the next. In the 200, with Marcellus Moore and Brian Faust, to the long jump with LJ Hill. Then on the women's side with Simi Akinrinsola scoring in the weight throw. It was just a beautiful day all across the board. Who didn't score had personal-best performances, and that's all you could ask for. They really gave it their all today, and it sets up things for tomorrow too, bodes well for good momentum going into tomorrow's competition."
Purdue's best finish in the finals came by senior Curt Eckstein in the 3,000, where he finished sixth overall in 8:06.24. It was a tight race to the finish, as the top seven finishers all crossed the finish line within 2.50 seconds.
Sophomore Johnny Vanos was seventh in the weight throw final with a mark of 20.06 meters, which came on his fourth throw.
In the women's weight throw, sophomore Simi Akinrinsola recorded a throw of 18.92 meters. The mark ranks No. 10 in program history in the event and was good for an eighth-place finish in the final. Akinrinsola's score came on her third throw of the afternoon.
In the men's long jump, freshman LJ Hill made his Big Ten Championships debut and placed eighth in the final. On his fifth jump, he recorded a mark of 7.20 meters.
Additionally, the women's distance medley relay was seventh with a time of 11:39.49. The finish was thanks to sophomores Emma Tate and Saran Kouyeth, freshman Payne Turney and senior Megan Slamkowski.
Through four events, junior Isaiah Martin leads the heptathlon with 3,163 points. He placed first in the long jump, with a mark of 7.25 meters, and was second in the shot put, with a throw of 13.71 meters. Both were season-best scores, and he added a 1.97m in the high jump to finish third in his final event of the day.
Senior Brian Faust and freshman K'Ja Talley both advanced to the finals in their event and added top-10 times in Purdue history in the process.
Faust's time came in the 200, where he finished in 21.10, sixth-fastest in the team record books. He was fourth overall in the prelims and first in the fifth and final heat. Sophomore Marcellus Moore also advanced in the 200 with the third-fastest prelim time. His finish of 21.09 was first in his heat and would rank No. 6 in school history if he didn't already hold the fourth-fastest time.
Talley moved up in the 60-hurdle record books with a time of 8.46 seconds, which is No. 8 all-time. Her personal-best time was fourth in the prelims. Talley will be joined in the final by freshman Nikia Smith, who ran the ninth-fastest time, in 8.62 seconds. Smith's mark is a personal-best.
Sophomore Kerris Roberts and junior Camille Christopher also advanced to the final in the 200, both with the fastest times in their heats. Roberts was third overall in 23.73 and Christopher was fifth in the prelims in 24.04.
Through four scored events, both the men and women's teams are in ninth place, with six points.
The championship continues on Friday, Feb. 26. The men are on the track from 10:30 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. ET, and the women from 4-6 p.m. The meet concludes on Saturday, Feb. 27, with the men from 11 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., and the women from 4-6:30 p.m.
Fans can follow all the action with live results, a BTN+ live stream (Friday | Saturday) and the event schedule, available on the track & field schedule page on PurdueSports.com/TrackField. Additional meet information can be found at BigTen.org/ITFChamps.
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.