IOWA CITY, Iowa. – The Purdue track & field team won two events and posted three top-10 times in school history on the final day of the Larry Wieczorek Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday.
The Boilermakers totaled four wins and earned four top-10 marks in the program record books at the two-day meet. Purdue added four second-place finishes and was third in six events.
"Up to this point, this was our toughest and most competitive meet of the season," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We competed against schools from other conferences, and we had some flashes of brilliance, but it really highlights the fact that we need to get better, we really need to get better. We were in a lot of competitions, but we need to take it over the top now. This is the belly of the season now, and we just have to see what happens next week, and it's on to Kentucky and Indiana.
At their first multi-day meet of the season, the Purdue men tied for second place with 63 points and the women were fourth with 64 points. Iowa won both the men's and women's competitions, with 232 and 183 points, respectively. Baylor shared runner-up honors with the Boilermaker men and also was second in the women's rankings. The Purdue men bested Wisconsin and Northern Iowa, while the women topped Gonzaga and UNI and finished just behind UW.
Saturday began with a victory by sophomore Deborah Obadofin in the triple jump, thanks to a jump of 11.79 meters. The winning mark came on her fourth attempt, and Obadofin won by a 0.25 meter-margin.
Meanwhile, one of the first events on the track was the open 400 meters, where junior Annamaria Leszczynska earned the win in 56.98 seconds. The top two times, and three of the fastest four, all came in Leszczynska's heat, and she won by 0.07 seconds.
Junior Saran Kouyeth entered the Purdue record books and then moved up in the top-10 list all in less than 90 minutes. First in the 60-meter prelims, she was sixth overall in 7.53 seconds, tied for the 10th-fastest time in school history. The personal-best time advanced her to the final, where she finished fifth overall in 7.47 seconds. As Kouyeth improved her time by 0.06 seconds, she moved up to No. 8 on the all-time list.
Sophomore Nikia Smith also entered the record books in the 60-meter hurdles. She ran a prelim time of 8.48, which tied for 10th-fastest in Purdue history. In the final, Smith and fellow sophomore K'Ja Talley each finished in 8.49 seconds, as Talley placed fifth and Smith sixth.
Senior Antonio Mitchell II matched his top-10 time in the 60-meter. He ran the final in 6.77 seconds, tying his Purdue-best mark that is No. 10 in the record books. The time also is ninth-best in the Big Ten this season, as Mitchell II was seventh in the final.
Sophomore Cierra Williams earned a runner-up finish in the premier 400m. She finished in 55.25, the second-fastest time in the Big Ten this year and a new personal-best.
Senior Jessica Bray was second in the pole vault, as she cleared 3.95 meters.
Fifth-year senior Tamar Greene posted a third-place finish in the triple jump. With the fourth-best jump in the Big Ten in 2022, Greene earned a mark of 15.55 meters. Sophomore LJ Hill was fourth, with a jump of 14.92m, which is a season-best and No. 6 in the conference this season.
To conclude the meet, the women's 4x400 relay team was third in 3:43.53.
Additionally, sophomores Naomi Campbell (60m, 7.68) and Logan Sandlin (pole vault, 4.60m) and freshmen Anne Busse (pole vault, 3.80m), Grant Gogel (pole vault, 4.75m) and Joseph Romanyk (800m, 1:55.41) recorded personal-best marks on Saturday. Fifth-year senior Tessa Sheets (pole vault, 3.80m) and junior Justin Becker (200m, 22.01) had season-bests.
On Friday, junior Kerris Roberts won the 200-meter dash and sophomore Gage Ernsberger was victorious in the high jump, and the Boilermakers added two runner-up finishes and had five third-place showings. Additionally, fifth-year senior Kelly Cook Jr. improved his eighth-best weight throw mark in school history. A complete recap of Friday's action can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
Next weekend, Purdue travels to Lexington, Kentucky, for the Rod McCravy Memorial and Bloomington, Indiana, for the Indiana Relays. Both meets will be held from January 28-29.
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 totaled four wins and earned four top-10 marks in the program record books at the two-day meet. Purdue added four second-place finishes and was third in six events.
"Up to this point, this was our toughest and most competitive meet of the season," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We competed against schools from other conferences, and we had some flashes of brilliance, but it really highlights the fact that we need to get better, we really need to get better. We were in a lot of competitions, but we need to take it over the top now. This is the belly of the season now, and we just have to see what happens next week, and it's on to Kentucky and Indiana.
At their first multi-day meet of the season, the Purdue men tied for second place with 63 points and the women were fourth with 64 points. Iowa won both the men's and women's competitions, with 232 and 183 points, respectively. Baylor shared runner-up honors with the Boilermaker men and also was second in the women's rankings. The Purdue men bested Wisconsin and Northern Iowa, while the women topped Gonzaga and UNI and finished just behind UW.
Saturday began with a victory by sophomore Deborah Obadofin in the triple jump, thanks to a jump of 11.79 meters. The winning mark came on her fourth attempt, and Obadofin won by a 0.25 meter-margin.
Meanwhile, one of the first events on the track was the open 400 meters, where junior Annamaria Leszczynska earned the win in 56.98 seconds. The top two times, and three of the fastest four, all came in Leszczynska's heat, and she won by 0.07 seconds.
Junior Saran Kouyeth entered the Purdue record books and then moved up in the top-10 list all in less than 90 minutes. First in the 60-meter prelims, she was sixth overall in 7.53 seconds, tied for the 10th-fastest time in school history. The personal-best time advanced her to the final, where she finished fifth overall in 7.47 seconds. As Kouyeth improved her time by 0.06 seconds, she moved up to No. 8 on the all-time list.
Sophomore Nikia Smith also entered the record books in the 60-meter hurdles. She ran a prelim time of 8.48, which tied for 10th-fastest in Purdue history. In the final, Smith and fellow sophomore K'Ja Talley each finished in 8.49 seconds, as Talley placed fifth and Smith sixth.
Senior Antonio Mitchell II matched his top-10 time in the 60-meter. He ran the final in 6.77 seconds, tying his Purdue-best mark that is No. 10 in the record books. The time also is ninth-best in the Big Ten this season, as Mitchell II was seventh in the final.
Sophomore Cierra Williams earned a runner-up finish in the premier 400m. She finished in 55.25, the second-fastest time in the Big Ten this year and a new personal-best.
Senior Jessica Bray was second in the pole vault, as she cleared 3.95 meters.
Fifth-year senior Tamar Greene posted a third-place finish in the triple jump. With the fourth-best jump in the Big Ten in 2022, Greene earned a mark of 15.55 meters. Sophomore LJ Hill was fourth, with a jump of 14.92m, which is a season-best and No. 6 in the conference this season.
To conclude the meet, the women's 4x400 relay team was third in 3:43.53.
Additionally, sophomores Naomi Campbell (60m, 7.68) and Logan Sandlin (pole vault, 4.60m) and freshmen Anne Busse (pole vault, 3.80m), Grant Gogel (pole vault, 4.75m) and Joseph Romanyk (800m, 1:55.41) recorded personal-best marks on Saturday. Fifth-year senior Tessa Sheets (pole vault, 3.80m) and junior Justin Becker (200m, 22.01) had season-bests.
On Friday, junior Kerris Roberts won the 200-meter dash and sophomore Gage Ernsberger was victorious in the high jump, and the Boilermakers added two runner-up finishes and had five third-place showings. Additionally, fifth-year senior Kelly Cook Jr. improved his eighth-best weight throw mark in school history. A complete recap of Friday's action can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
Next weekend, Purdue travels to Lexington, Kentucky, for the Rod McCravy Memorial and Bloomington, Indiana, for the Indiana Relays. Both meets will be held from January 28-29.
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.