MINNEAPOLIS – Sophomore Safin Wills won the triple jump and was one of three medalists on Sunday as the Purdue track & field team concluded competition at the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Minnesota Track & Field Stadium in Minneapolis.
Wills claimed gold in the triple jump and senior Antonio Mitchell II won silver and junior Camille Christopher earned bronze in the 200 meters. The trio were joined by senior Curt Eckstein, who won silver in the 10,000m on Friday, as Purdue's medalists at the 2022 conference championships.
A total of 18 top-eight podium finishes were registered by the Boilermakers this weekend, with 12 coming on Sunday. Wills was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and Eckstein and Mitchell II were recognized on the All-Big Ten Second Team.
The triple jump title came with a meet-record mark by Wills, as he jumped 16.20m-w. The jump was on his sixth and final attempt, right after a 16.09m on his fifth jump as the only two marks by any athlete of more than 16.00m. Wills' title is his third Big Ten medal this year, along with a silver and bronze indoors, and his fourth podium finish in four events in his first year as a Boilermaker.
Purdue has won three consecutive outdoor Big Ten triple jump titles, by Wills in 2022 and now-senior Tamar Greene in 2019 and 2021. Greene was sixth on Sunday with a jump of 15.59m-w on his third attempt.
The Boilermakers earned a pair of medals in the 200m, by Mitchell II in the men's race and Christopher in the women's event. The pair took home hardware after podium finishes in the 100m less than an hour earlier.
Mitchell II ran the 200m in 20.35w to finish second and win silver. He earned his second medal of the year after he claimed bronze indoors in the 200m. In the 100m, Mitchell II was fourth in 10.12w. Both marks on Sunday were personal-bests in all conditions for the first-year Boilermaker.
Christopher won bronze in the 200m in 22.89w to earn her second career Big Ten medal. The finish came on the heels of a fourth-place showing in the 100m in 11.29w.
Also in the women's 200m, sophomore Kerris Roberts was fifth in 23.19w and sophomore Saran Kouyeth placed eighth in 23.56w. Christopher, Roberts and Kouyeth's times were collegiate-bests in all conditions.
The women's 4x100 relay team finished fourth in 44.53 to open the meet on the track. The time was just 0.02 seconds shy of the team's season-best in the event.
Eckstein backed up his 10,000m silver medal-performance on Friday with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000m on Sunday. He finished in 14:16.95 to notch his fourth top-seven finish in four distance events at the indoor and outdoor Big Ten meets in 2022.
Freshman Rieko Wilford made the podium for the first time at seventh in the triple jump thanks to a mark of 12.63m.
A day after he was fourth in the decathlon, Martin returned to the podium with an eighth-place finish in the javelin. A throw of 58.80m on his final attempt gave Martin his seventh career top-eight finish and first in an event that isn't the decathlon or heptathlon.
Sophomore Cierra Williams made it back-to-back years with an eighth-place finish in the 400m. She finished in 53.42 to earn another spot on the podium.
In the final team standings, the Purdue men were ninth with 51 points and the women were 11th with 29 points. Ohio State won both team titles, with 185.5 women's points and 124 men's points. Wisconsin (98) and Iowa (103) were the women's and men's runners-up, while host-Minnesota (87) and Wisconsin (90) took third in the final women's and men's standings.
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.
Wills claimed gold in the triple jump and senior Antonio Mitchell II won silver and junior Camille Christopher earned bronze in the 200 meters. The trio were joined by senior Curt Eckstein, who won silver in the 10,000m on Friday, as Purdue's medalists at the 2022 conference championships.
A total of 18 top-eight podium finishes were registered by the Boilermakers this weekend, with 12 coming on Sunday. Wills was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and Eckstein and Mitchell II were recognized on the All-Big Ten Second Team.
The triple jump title came with a meet-record mark by Wills, as he jumped 16.20m-w. The jump was on his sixth and final attempt, right after a 16.09m on his fifth jump as the only two marks by any athlete of more than 16.00m. Wills' title is his third Big Ten medal this year, along with a silver and bronze indoors, and his fourth podium finish in four events in his first year as a Boilermaker.
Purdue has won three consecutive outdoor Big Ten triple jump titles, by Wills in 2022 and now-senior Tamar Greene in 2019 and 2021. Greene was sixth on Sunday with a jump of 15.59m-w on his third attempt.
🥇 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 🥇
— Purdue Track & Field / Cross Country (@PurdueTrackXC) May 15, 2022
Safin Wills wins gold in the triple jump!! He wins the title with a Big Ten Championships-record jump of 16.20m!
📊 https://t.co/NUSpAIpES9#BoilerUp 🚂 #B1GTF pic.twitter.com/NFVkPHZBN3
The Boilermakers earned a pair of medals in the 200m, by Mitchell II in the men's race and Christopher in the women's event. The pair took home hardware after podium finishes in the 100m less than an hour earlier.
Mitchell II ran the 200m in 20.35w to finish second and win silver. He earned his second medal of the year after he claimed bronze indoors in the 200m. In the 100m, Mitchell II was fourth in 10.12w. Both marks on Sunday were personal-bests in all conditions for the first-year Boilermaker.
Christopher won bronze in the 200m in 22.89w to earn her second career Big Ten medal. The finish came on the heels of a fourth-place showing in the 100m in 11.29w.
Also in the women's 200m, sophomore Kerris Roberts was fifth in 23.19w and sophomore Saran Kouyeth placed eighth in 23.56w. Christopher, Roberts and Kouyeth's times were collegiate-bests in all conditions.
The women's 4x100 relay team finished fourth in 44.53 to open the meet on the track. The time was just 0.02 seconds shy of the team's season-best in the event.
Eckstein backed up his 10,000m silver medal-performance on Friday with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000m on Sunday. He finished in 14:16.95 to notch his fourth top-seven finish in four distance events at the indoor and outdoor Big Ten meets in 2022.
Freshman Rieko Wilford made the podium for the first time at seventh in the triple jump thanks to a mark of 12.63m.
A day after he was fourth in the decathlon, Martin returned to the podium with an eighth-place finish in the javelin. A throw of 58.80m on his final attempt gave Martin his seventh career top-eight finish and first in an event that isn't the decathlon or heptathlon.
Sophomore Cierra Williams made it back-to-back years with an eighth-place finish in the 400m. She finished in 53.42 to earn another spot on the podium.
In the final team standings, the Purdue men were ninth with 51 points and the women were 11th with 29 points. Ohio State won both team titles, with 185.5 women's points and 124 men's points. Wisconsin (98) and Iowa (103) were the women's and men's runners-up, while host-Minnesota (87) and Wisconsin (90) took third in the final women's and men's standings.
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.