PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Senior Malcolm Dotson and sophomore Alexis Zatta earned victories and sophomore Isaiah Martin climbed to No. 2 in school history in the decathlon as the Purdue track & field team concluded competition at the Husker Big Ten Invitational in Prairie View, Texas, on Saturday.
Along with their two event victories, the Boilermakers had three second-place finishes and two third-place showings to go along with 11 personal-best marks on Saturday.
"We were able to put together some decent performances across the board, and overall, it was a pretty good meet for us," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "The good thing about this competition is we competed against every Big Ten school, which really gave us a good measuring stick of where we are ranked. Malcolm and Marcellus (Moore) showed up well, and our men's 4x100 relay had a really good performance, so that puts us in a good position. I was quite pleased and happy for Samara Miller for running a really good time in the 400, and Alexis did really well for a second week in a row. I thought Isaiah Martin, who was just a few points shy of the school record, also had a really good performance today, which should put him in the top-10 nationally and in a really good spot for making NCAAs.
"I also want highlight some of the distances runners we had on Friday, they did really, really, well. They earned a lot of personal-best times and top-10 school marks. We had a split group this weekend, so overall this was a solid weekend for us."
The Boilermakers competed against representatives from every Big Ten program at the Prairie View A&M Track Stadium on an unseasonably chilly and windy weekend in Texas.
Martin had a career weekend in the decathlon to finish third overall with the fifth-best score in the country. He earned 7,576 points, which ranks No. 2 in school history and is just eight points shy of the school record of 7,584, set by Jon Pergande in 1995. Martin's day included a first-place showing in the javelin, with a throw of 60.46 meters, and personal-best marks in the 110 hurdles (14.40) and the pole vault (4.30m).
Zatta earned her second victory in as many weeks in the high jump. The reigning Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week, Zatta cleared 1.76 meters on her second jump.
Dotson won the 200 with a wind-aided time of 21.01 seconds, and he was just ahead of freshman teammate Marcellus Moore, who placed second in 21.11. Moore also notched a top-10 time in school history in the 100-meter dash finals, as he finished third in 10.39 seconds, tied for the ninth-fastest time in the Purdue record books.
The Purdue men opened competition on the track with a runner-up finish in the 4x100 relay. Freshman Jahn Riley, Dotson, sophomore Justin Becker and Moore finished in 40.01.
For the women, the 4x400 relay team placed second in 3:41.68. The fifth-fastest time in the Big Ten this season was ran by freshmen K'Ja Talley, Cierra Williams, senior Samara Miller and freshman Saran Kouyeth.
Talley finished fifth overall in the 100 hurdle finals with a wind-aided time of 13.65 seconds. Miller also registered a fifth-place showing, in the 400 with a season-best time of 54.76 seconds.
Purdue's women's 4x100 relay squad began the day on the track and finished fourth with a season-best time of 45.79 seconds.
In the heptathlon, senior Rebecca Coan was sixth with 4,996 points. The personal-best total came thanks to a third-place finish in the long jump (5.63m) on Saturday, after she was second in one event and third in two on Friday, with two PRs.
Additionally, four Boilermakers also registered personal-best marks on Saturday, as Riley (48.43 in the 400 and 21.48 in the 200), junior Amir Harris (47.81 in the 400) and freshmen Vinajah Adderley (11.76m in the triple jump) and Johnny Vanos (15.84m in the shot put) topped their previous highs.
On Friday, senior Brody Smith won the 3,000 steeplechase and three Boilermakers posted top-10 times in school history in the 5,000-meter event at the Big Ten Indiana Invitational No. 3 in Bloomington, while Purdue opened competition in Texas. A complete recap of all of Friday's action can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
Up next, the Boilermakers make the short trip west next weekend when they head to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, for the Big Ten Relays. Competition is set for April 23-24 at Illinois' Demirjian Park.
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.
Along with their two event victories, the Boilermakers had three second-place finishes and two third-place showings to go along with 11 personal-best marks on Saturday.
"We were able to put together some decent performances across the board, and overall, it was a pretty good meet for us," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "The good thing about this competition is we competed against every Big Ten school, which really gave us a good measuring stick of where we are ranked. Malcolm and Marcellus (Moore) showed up well, and our men's 4x100 relay had a really good performance, so that puts us in a good position. I was quite pleased and happy for Samara Miller for running a really good time in the 400, and Alexis did really well for a second week in a row. I thought Isaiah Martin, who was just a few points shy of the school record, also had a really good performance today, which should put him in the top-10 nationally and in a really good spot for making NCAAs.
"I also want highlight some of the distances runners we had on Friday, they did really, really, well. They earned a lot of personal-best times and top-10 school marks. We had a split group this weekend, so overall this was a solid weekend for us."
The Boilermakers competed against representatives from every Big Ten program at the Prairie View A&M Track Stadium on an unseasonably chilly and windy weekend in Texas.
Martin had a career weekend in the decathlon to finish third overall with the fifth-best score in the country. He earned 7,576 points, which ranks No. 2 in school history and is just eight points shy of the school record of 7,584, set by Jon Pergande in 1995. Martin's day included a first-place showing in the javelin, with a throw of 60.46 meters, and personal-best marks in the 110 hurdles (14.40) and the pole vault (4.30m).
Zatta earned her second victory in as many weeks in the high jump. The reigning Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week, Zatta cleared 1.76 meters on her second jump.
Dotson won the 200 with a wind-aided time of 21.01 seconds, and he was just ahead of freshman teammate Marcellus Moore, who placed second in 21.11. Moore also notched a top-10 time in school history in the 100-meter dash finals, as he finished third in 10.39 seconds, tied for the ninth-fastest time in the Purdue record books.
The Purdue men opened competition on the track with a runner-up finish in the 4x100 relay. Freshman Jahn Riley, Dotson, sophomore Justin Becker and Moore finished in 40.01.
For the women, the 4x400 relay team placed second in 3:41.68. The fifth-fastest time in the Big Ten this season was ran by freshmen K'Ja Talley, Cierra Williams, senior Samara Miller and freshman Saran Kouyeth.
Talley finished fifth overall in the 100 hurdle finals with a wind-aided time of 13.65 seconds. Miller also registered a fifth-place showing, in the 400 with a season-best time of 54.76 seconds.
Purdue's women's 4x100 relay squad began the day on the track and finished fourth with a season-best time of 45.79 seconds.
In the heptathlon, senior Rebecca Coan was sixth with 4,996 points. The personal-best total came thanks to a third-place finish in the long jump (5.63m) on Saturday, after she was second in one event and third in two on Friday, with two PRs.
Additionally, four Boilermakers also registered personal-best marks on Saturday, as Riley (48.43 in the 400 and 21.48 in the 200), junior Amir Harris (47.81 in the 400) and freshmen Vinajah Adderley (11.76m in the triple jump) and Johnny Vanos (15.84m in the shot put) topped their previous highs.
On Friday, senior Brody Smith won the 3,000 steeplechase and three Boilermakers posted top-10 times in school history in the 5,000-meter event at the Big Ten Indiana Invitational No. 3 in Bloomington, while Purdue opened competition in Texas. A complete recap of all of Friday's action can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
Up next, the Boilermakers make the short trip west next weekend when they head to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, for the Big Ten Relays. Competition is set for April 23-24 at Illinois' Demirjian Park.
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.