MINNEAPOLIS – Senior Curt Eckstein won a silver medal in the 10,000 meters as the Purdue track & field team opened the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday at the University of Minnesota Track & Field Stadium in Minneapolis.
Eckstein was joined by fellow senior Kelly Cook Jr. and junior Tyler Bowling on the podium on Friday as Cook Jr. was sixth in the hammer throw and Bowling placed eighth in the 10,000m. Seven top-10 marks in school history were recorded, including by Bowling, and six Boilermakers advanced to the final in their respective events on the inaugural day of the three-day conference championship meet.
The 10,000m was the final event of the day and Eckstein was one of four Purdue runners. Three of the four had personal-best times, two notched top-10 times in school history and all four placed in the top-13 in the race. Eckstein led the way in second place with a time of 29:00.76. He was in third through the opening 2,000m and fell to seventh at the 3,200m mark. He was up to fourth by 4,000m, but in seventh after 5,600m. 1,200m later, at 6,800m, Eckstein was back up to third, and he moved into second place with just 400m to go.
The runner-up finish was Eckstein's second career Big Ten medal to go along with a bronze in the 10,000m outdoors in 2019. Bowling earned the first Big Ten podium finish of his career. He was eighth in 29:18.78, and the personal-best mark by nearly 24 seconds moved Bowling up to No. 5 in school history, up from ninth. Sophomore Blake Selm was 10th overall in 29:33.79. He entered the record book for the first time, at No. 10, with a new personal-best. Additionally, junior Bailey McIntire finished 13th in 29:46.57. The personal-best time was just shy of a spot on the top 10 list.
In one of the first events of the day, Cook Jr. earned a podium finish in the hammer throw. His throw of 64.53 meters came on his sixth and final attempt after he earned a berth in the final as the No. 8 seed. All three of Cook Jr's throws in the final were at least 63.35m to move him up in the final standings.
Purdue had an impressive showing in the 200m prelims. Four of the nine finalists in the women's event are Boilermakers, along with the second-fastest men's prelim finisher. In total, all five finalists posted personal-best times and four of the five registered top-10 marks in school history.
Junior Camille Christopher had the second-fastest prelim time of the women, in 23.26. That moved her up into a tie for fourth in school history. Sophomore Kerris Roberts was sixth in the prelims in 23.58, as she rose to No. 6 in the record books. Fellow sophomore Saran Kouyeth was right behind her in seventh in 23.73, and she enters the top-10 list in the event at No. 9. Sophomore Naomi Campbell posted the ninth-fastest prelim time in 24.02, and her PR earned her the last spot in the final.
For the men, senior Antonio Mitchell II finished in 20.69. The personal-best time was second-fastest in the prelims and No. 8 in program history. He'll look to add to his bronze medal in the indoor 200m in Sunday's final.
Christopher, Roberts and Mitchell II all won their heats to earn the automatic berth in Sundays final. Kouyeth and Campbell qualified for the final with one of the next-five fastest times.
The opening event on the track was the 400m hurdles, where sophomore K'Ja Talley earned Purdue's first finals appearance of the meet. She finished in 57.42, a personal-best by 0.39 seconds, to move up to No. 3 in the record books. Sophomore Annamaria Leszczynska ran a season-best time of 59.22 to finish 11th overall, just shy of a spot in the final.
In the men's 400m hurdles, freshman Zamen Siyoum had a personal-best of 52.91 to finish 13th.
All three Boilermakers in the women's 1,500m ran collegiate-record times. Sophomore Payne Turney was 13th in 4:27.75, freshman Ellie Tate was 14th in 4:28.13 and freshman Emma Squires was 20th in 4:31.31.
Through five events in the decathlon, junior Isaiah Martin is in sixth place with 3,827 points. In a tightly-contested competition, Martin is just 73 points out of third place. His day was highlighted by a wind-legal personal-best 100m time of 11.02 and a season-best shot put throw of 13.46m.
The Big Ten Championships resume on Saturday, May 14. The day begins with the final five events of the decathlon at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT, while Purdue's first field event is at 3:15 p.m. ET / 2:15 p.m. CT and the squad's first event on the track is at 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT. The day will finish at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. The 2022 championships conclude on Sunday, May 15, with field events at noon ET / 11 a.m. CT and running events at 1:45 p.m. ET / 12:45 p.m. CT. The meet is set to end at 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT.
Fans can follow along with live results at PTTiming.com, and the meet will be streamed live on B1G+ (Saturday Field | Saturday Track | Sunday Field | Sunday Track), with a subscription required. Additional championships information, including the complete schedule, is available at BigTen.org/OTFChamps. Updates from Minneapolis also can be found by following and connecting with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Direct links to follow along are available on the schedule page at 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.
Eckstein was joined by fellow senior Kelly Cook Jr. and junior Tyler Bowling on the podium on Friday as Cook Jr. was sixth in the hammer throw and Bowling placed eighth in the 10,000m. Seven top-10 marks in school history were recorded, including by Bowling, and six Boilermakers advanced to the final in their respective events on the inaugural day of the three-day conference championship meet.
The 10,000m was the final event of the day and Eckstein was one of four Purdue runners. Three of the four had personal-best times, two notched top-10 times in school history and all four placed in the top-13 in the race. Eckstein led the way in second place with a time of 29:00.76. He was in third through the opening 2,000m and fell to seventh at the 3,200m mark. He was up to fourth by 4,000m, but in seventh after 5,600m. 1,200m later, at 6,800m, Eckstein was back up to third, and he moved into second place with just 400m to go.
🥈 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 🥈
— Purdue Track & Field / Cross Country (@PurdueTrackXC) May 14, 2022
Curt Eckstein is 2nd in the 10,000m!! He finishes in 29:00.76 to earn his 2nd career Big Ten medal!
📊 https://t.co/NUSpAIpES9#BoilerUp 🚂 #B1GTF pic.twitter.com/gQLN3KtzLt
The runner-up finish was Eckstein's second career Big Ten medal to go along with a bronze in the 10,000m outdoors in 2019. Bowling earned the first Big Ten podium finish of his career. He was eighth in 29:18.78, and the personal-best mark by nearly 24 seconds moved Bowling up to No. 5 in school history, up from ninth. Sophomore Blake Selm was 10th overall in 29:33.79. He entered the record book for the first time, at No. 10, with a new personal-best. Additionally, junior Bailey McIntire finished 13th in 29:46.57. The personal-best time was just shy of a spot on the top 10 list.
In one of the first events of the day, Cook Jr. earned a podium finish in the hammer throw. His throw of 64.53 meters came on his sixth and final attempt after he earned a berth in the final as the No. 8 seed. All three of Cook Jr's throws in the final were at least 63.35m to move him up in the final standings.
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Purdue had an impressive showing in the 200m prelims. Four of the nine finalists in the women's event are Boilermakers, along with the second-fastest men's prelim finisher. In total, all five finalists posted personal-best times and four of the five registered top-10 marks in school history.
Junior Camille Christopher had the second-fastest prelim time of the women, in 23.26. That moved her up into a tie for fourth in school history. Sophomore Kerris Roberts was sixth in the prelims in 23.58, as she rose to No. 6 in the record books. Fellow sophomore Saran Kouyeth was right behind her in seventh in 23.73, and she enters the top-10 list in the event at No. 9. Sophomore Naomi Campbell posted the ninth-fastest prelim time in 24.02, and her PR earned her the last spot in the final.
"Wow, 23.26." 🔥@DeanCLinke said it best about Camille Christopher's 200m!#BoilerUp 🚂 #B1GTF pic.twitter.com/GoZBA5aPpf
— Purdue Track & Field / Cross Country (@PurdueTrackXC) May 14, 2022
For the men, senior Antonio Mitchell II finished in 20.69. The personal-best time was second-fastest in the prelims and No. 8 in program history. He'll look to add to his bronze medal in the indoor 200m in Sunday's final.
Christopher, Roberts and Mitchell II all won their heats to earn the automatic berth in Sundays final. Kouyeth and Campbell qualified for the final with one of the next-five fastest times.
The opening event on the track was the 400m hurdles, where sophomore K'Ja Talley earned Purdue's first finals appearance of the meet. She finished in 57.42, a personal-best by 0.39 seconds, to move up to No. 3 in the record books. Sophomore Annamaria Leszczynska ran a season-best time of 59.22 to finish 11th overall, just shy of a spot in the final.
In the men's 400m hurdles, freshman Zamen Siyoum had a personal-best of 52.91 to finish 13th.
All three Boilermakers in the women's 1,500m ran collegiate-record times. Sophomore Payne Turney was 13th in 4:27.75, freshman Ellie Tate was 14th in 4:28.13 and freshman Emma Squires was 20th in 4:31.31.
Through five events in the decathlon, junior Isaiah Martin is in sixth place with 3,827 points. In a tightly-contested competition, Martin is just 73 points out of third place. His day was highlighted by a wind-legal personal-best 100m time of 11.02 and a season-best shot put throw of 13.46m.
The Big Ten Championships resume on Saturday, May 14. The day begins with the final five events of the decathlon at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT, while Purdue's first field event is at 3:15 p.m. ET / 2:15 p.m. CT and the squad's first event on the track is at 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT. The day will finish at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. The 2022 championships conclude on Sunday, May 15, with field events at noon ET / 11 a.m. CT and running events at 1:45 p.m. ET / 12:45 p.m. CT. The meet is set to end at 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT.
Fans can follow along with live results at PTTiming.com, and the meet will be streamed live on B1G+ (Saturday Field | Saturday Track | Sunday Field | Sunday Track), with a subscription required. Additional championships information, including the complete schedule, is available at BigTen.org/OTFChamps. Updates from Minneapolis also can be found by following and connecting with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Direct links to follow along are available on the schedule page at 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.