JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The women's 4x400 relay team qualified for the NCAA Championships and three top-six times in program history were set by the Purdue track & field team on the final day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
Along with the 4x400 relay team's nationals berth on Saturday, freshman K'Ja Talley in the 400 hurdles and both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays recorded times that rank in the top-six in Purdue's record books.
"First of all, today was just an extraordinary day," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We had an extraordinary effort by our women's 4x100, with a season-best time, they just missed making the top-12. Alexa Zatta had a really good performance, she was very solid. Had it not been for one miss on 1.77m, she would have been in the top-12 going to Eugene, Oregon. Kaia Harris in the discus, she did really well today. I'm really proud of her effort as well, what a comeback for her, her history speaks for itself. And, Camille Christopher ran a really solid time today in the 100.
"The highlight of the day was the last event, the 4x400. Going in, we were outside the top 12, but finished in the top three in our heat. I just couldn't be more proud of those ladies, they just ran their tails off. Purdue is known for having good relays, and today just shows that we're still running good 4x400s. I'm really proud of them. Three freshmen and one senior, so the future looks bright for us. All in all, our women competed really well. We prepared them well, the coaches prepared them well, and the effort showed today."
The women's 4x400 relay squad will be joined at the NCAA Championships by senior Samson Colebrooke in the 200-meter, junior Tamar Greene in the triple jump, and the men's 4x100 relay, who qualified on Friday, and sophomore Isaiah Martin in the decathlon. The Boilermakers advance to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 9-12.
"These guys are seasoned guys," Elliott added. "Our 4x100 team has been there before and came back, so this was sort of business as usual for those guys. Tamar Greene, an All American indoors, had a clutch performance, he came through on his last jump and made it count to make it to the national championship. Samson Colebrooke making it in the 200, he's a senior, a wily veteran, he just muscled his way through. When it comes down to getting to the finals, those guys know how to do it, and I'm really proud of them."
Purdue's 4x400 relay squad finished in 3:33.83 on Saturday night, the sixth-fastest time in school history. Talley, freshmen Cierra Williams and Saran Kouyeth and senior Samara Miller had the 10th-fastest time overall to earn one of the 12 qualifying spots after entering the meet as the No. 16 seed. The foursome recorded the third-fastest time in their heat, by 1.23 seconds, to qualify automatically.
An hour and a half earlier, Talley ran the fourth-fastest 400 hurdles time in program history and finished 13th overall in 57.81. Her time was just 0.21 seconds shy of a top-12 finish and a trip to nationals in the event. Talley's mark, a personal-best by more than a second and more than two seconds faster than her seed time, is the fastest by a Boilermaker since 2017 and the second-fastest since 2001.
The 4x100 relay team registered the No. 6-fastest time in program history, in 44.54 seconds. Kouyeth, Talley, freshman Naomi Campbell and sophomore Camille Christopher were 14th overall, just 0.15 seconds out of the top-12. The Boilermakers topped their Big Ten Championships time of 44.69, which earned them a bronze medal and was the eighth-fastest time in the Purdue record books at the time.
Sophomore Alexis Zatta cleared a personal-best-tying 1.77 meters in the high jump. She placed 14th overall and was just short of a top-12 finish, and a trip to nationals, on misses. The Athens, Ohio, native, concludes her season at her third career NCAA meet and second prelims, after she won a pair of Big Ten medals, gold indoors and bronze outdoors, and earned second team All-America honors indoors in 2021.
Christopher also raced in the 100, where she was 23rd in 11.54 seconds. Two days after setting the fifth-fastest time in program history, in 11.47, Christopher's 11.54 on Saturday night would rank No. 6 in team history. A Noblesville, Indiana, native, she entered the week with a PR of 11.59 and reached the quarterfinals as the No. 39 overall seed. Christopher's season concludes after she recorded the No. 5 times in team history in the 100 and 200.
Freshman Kaia Harris finished 31st in the discus with a mark of 48.89 meters. A West Lafayette native, Harris qualified for her first NCAA East Prelims, set the No. 2 discus mark in program history earlier this year and yesterday was named a recipient of the Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award.
Racing in the 4x100, today also was the final meet of Campbell's freshman season. From Techier Village, Trinidad and Tobago, Campbell made her NCAA debut this week in Jacksonville.
Twenty Boilermakers, 11 women and nine men, qualified in 25 total events for the NCAA East Prelims. The East Prelims, along with the West Prelims, feature 48 qualifiers in each individual event and 24 teams in each relay. The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 9-12.
On Wednesday, as Colebrooke and freshman Marcellus Moore each advanced to the quarterfinals in the 100 and 200, and Colebrooke's 100 time was the second-fastest in school history. A complete recap is available at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
On Thursday, Christopher, in both the 100 and 200, and sophomore Jessica Bray in the pole vault, recorded marks that rank in the top-five in the Purdue record books in addition to Christopher and Talley advancing to Saturday's quarterfinals. A complete recap can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
On Friday, Colebrooke, Greene and the men's 4x100 relay team of Colebrooke, senior Malcolm Dotson, sophomore Justin Becker and Moore qualified for the NCAA Championships, while the 4x100 relay squad and Moore each recorded top-four times in the Purdue record books. For more on Friday's competition, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
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 the 4x400 relay team's nationals berth on Saturday, freshman K'Ja Talley in the 400 hurdles and both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays recorded times that rank in the top-six in Purdue's record books.
"First of all, today was just an extraordinary day," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We had an extraordinary effort by our women's 4x100, with a season-best time, they just missed making the top-12. Alexa Zatta had a really good performance, she was very solid. Had it not been for one miss on 1.77m, she would have been in the top-12 going to Eugene, Oregon. Kaia Harris in the discus, she did really well today. I'm really proud of her effort as well, what a comeback for her, her history speaks for itself. And, Camille Christopher ran a really solid time today in the 100.
"The highlight of the day was the last event, the 4x400. Going in, we were outside the top 12, but finished in the top three in our heat. I just couldn't be more proud of those ladies, they just ran their tails off. Purdue is known for having good relays, and today just shows that we're still running good 4x400s. I'm really proud of them. Three freshmen and one senior, so the future looks bright for us. All in all, our women competed really well. We prepared them well, the coaches prepared them well, and the effort showed today."
The women's 4x400 relay squad will be joined at the NCAA Championships by senior Samson Colebrooke in the 200-meter, junior Tamar Greene in the triple jump, and the men's 4x100 relay, who qualified on Friday, and sophomore Isaiah Martin in the decathlon. The Boilermakers advance to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 9-12.
"These guys are seasoned guys," Elliott added. "Our 4x100 team has been there before and came back, so this was sort of business as usual for those guys. Tamar Greene, an All American indoors, had a clutch performance, he came through on his last jump and made it count to make it to the national championship. Samson Colebrooke making it in the 200, he's a senior, a wily veteran, he just muscled his way through. When it comes down to getting to the finals, those guys know how to do it, and I'm really proud of them."
Purdue's 4x400 relay squad finished in 3:33.83 on Saturday night, the sixth-fastest time in school history. Talley, freshmen Cierra Williams and Saran Kouyeth and senior Samara Miller had the 10th-fastest time overall to earn one of the 12 qualifying spots after entering the meet as the No. 16 seed. The foursome recorded the third-fastest time in their heat, by 1.23 seconds, to qualify automatically.
The 4x400 is headed to the #NCAATF Championships!!#BoilerUp 🚂 pic.twitter.com/RViPME7KxF
— Purdue Track & Field / Cross Country (@PurdueTrackXC) May 30, 2021
An hour and a half earlier, Talley ran the fourth-fastest 400 hurdles time in program history and finished 13th overall in 57.81. Her time was just 0.21 seconds shy of a top-12 finish and a trip to nationals in the event. Talley's mark, a personal-best by more than a second and more than two seconds faster than her seed time, is the fastest by a Boilermaker since 2017 and the second-fastest since 2001.
The 4x100 relay team registered the No. 6-fastest time in program history, in 44.54 seconds. Kouyeth, Talley, freshman Naomi Campbell and sophomore Camille Christopher were 14th overall, just 0.15 seconds out of the top-12. The Boilermakers topped their Big Ten Championships time of 44.69, which earned them a bronze medal and was the eighth-fastest time in the Purdue record books at the time.
Sophomore Alexis Zatta cleared a personal-best-tying 1.77 meters in the high jump. She placed 14th overall and was just short of a top-12 finish, and a trip to nationals, on misses. The Athens, Ohio, native, concludes her season at her third career NCAA meet and second prelims, after she won a pair of Big Ten medals, gold indoors and bronze outdoors, and earned second team All-America honors indoors in 2021.
Alexis Zatta ties her high jump PR!! She clears 1.77 meters and finishes 14th overall.
— Purdue Track & Field / Cross Country (@PurdueTrackXC) May 29, 2021
At her second career NCAA prelims, Alexis is just shy of a top-12 finish on misses.
📊 https://t.co/NZITdCUEtg
📺 https://t.co/l1YgbKKOLc#BoilerUp 🚂 #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/x1DrYSAxs3
Christopher also raced in the 100, where she was 23rd in 11.54 seconds. Two days after setting the fifth-fastest time in program history, in 11.47, Christopher's 11.54 on Saturday night would rank No. 6 in team history. A Noblesville, Indiana, native, she entered the week with a PR of 11.59 and reached the quarterfinals as the No. 39 overall seed. Christopher's season concludes after she recorded the No. 5 times in team history in the 100 and 200.
Freshman Kaia Harris finished 31st in the discus with a mark of 48.89 meters. A West Lafayette native, Harris qualified for her first NCAA East Prelims, set the No. 2 discus mark in program history earlier this year and yesterday was named a recipient of the Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award.
Racing in the 4x100, today also was the final meet of Campbell's freshman season. From Techier Village, Trinidad and Tobago, Campbell made her NCAA debut this week in Jacksonville.
Twenty Boilermakers, 11 women and nine men, qualified in 25 total events for the NCAA East Prelims. The East Prelims, along with the West Prelims, feature 48 qualifiers in each individual event and 24 teams in each relay. The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 9-12.
On Wednesday, as Colebrooke and freshman Marcellus Moore each advanced to the quarterfinals in the 100 and 200, and Colebrooke's 100 time was the second-fastest in school history. A complete recap is available at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
On Thursday, Christopher, in both the 100 and 200, and sophomore Jessica Bray in the pole vault, recorded marks that rank in the top-five in the Purdue record books in addition to Christopher and Talley advancing to Saturday's quarterfinals. A complete recap can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
On Friday, Colebrooke, Greene and the men's 4x100 relay team of Colebrooke, senior Malcolm Dotson, sophomore Justin Becker and Moore qualified for the NCAA Championships, while the 4x100 relay squad and Moore each recorded top-four times in the Purdue record books. For more on Friday's competition, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
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.