WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue track & field team opens its indoor season at home with the Edmonds-Wilt Invitational at Lambert Fieldhouse on Saturday, December 10.
The meet commences with field events at 10:30 a.m. ET, and running events begin at 12:15 p.m. The final event, the 4x400 relay, is set for 4:30 p.m. Admission is free for all fans in Lambert Fieldhouse.
Purdue's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is hosting a clothing drive during the meet. They will be collecting winter items such as hats, jackets, waterproof gloves, hand warmers, long underwear, etc. All donations will go to the Lafayette Transitional Housing Center.
Fans unable to watch in person can follow along with live results at PTTiming.com, and the meet schedule is available at PurdueSports.com/TrackField. Additional updates can be found by following and connecting with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, while direct links are available on the schedule page at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
The Boilermakers will be joined by four teams at the season-opening meet, as FIU, Northern Colorado, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee State travel to West Lafayette. Thirty-two events, 16 men's and 16 women's, will be contested.
Purdue will have a total of 86 entries on Saturday in 25 of the 32 events.
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2021-22 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD SEASON
The Boilermakers won five Big Ten medals, recorded 31 top-10 marks in program history and broke one school record during the 2021-22 indoor track & field season.
At the Big Ten Championships, the men were seventh overall to earn a fourth consecutive top-seven finish. That streak comes after they placed outside of the top nine in each of the previous four years (2015-18) and in nine of the previous 13 (2006-18). Then-junior Safin Wills was the Big Ten runner-up in the triple jump to earn All-Big Ten Second Team accolades, and he added a bronze medal in the long jump. Then-freshman Praise Aniamaka (triple jump), then-freshman Shianne Dacosta (400m) and then-senior Antonio Mitchell II (200m) also earned bronze-medal finishes.
The 31 top-10 marks in the school record book came in 13 different events. Then-senior Curt Eckstein broke the Purdue record in the 3,000 meters, with a time of 7:57.69. Additionally, Aniamaka set the Canadian Under-20 record in the triple jump, with a jump of 15.89m that also is No. 6 in school history.
Academically during the 2021-22 indoor and outdoor track & field campaign, 43 Boilermakers were recognized on the Academic All-Big Ten Team and 18 were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars. Both the men's and women's teams, and eight individuals, were bestowed with USTFCCCA All-Academic Team distinction.
LAST TIME AT LAMBERT FIELDHOUSE
Purdue hosted two meets at Lambert Fieldhouse in 2021-22, the Fred Wilt Open and the Gene Edmonds Invitational.
At the season-opening Fred Wilt Open on December 4, 2021, the Boilermakers won 15 of the 21 events they competed in, with seven victories by newcomers making their collegiate or Purdue debuts. Three top-10 marks in the school record books were achieved along with eight personal-best marks by returners. Aniamaka (triple jump), then-sophomore K'Ja Talley (60m hurdles) and then-senior Kelly Cook Jr. (weight throw) earned top-10 marks in school history, and Talley led the team with two victories, in the 60m hurdles and the 300m.
One month later, Purdue won 13 events at the Gene Edmonds Invitational on January 8, 2022. The Boilermakers added 16 runner-up finishes and claimed both first and second place in nine events. Eight of Purdue's wins came in field events and 17 personal-best marks were achieved. Following the meet, then-senior Johnny Vanos and then-junior Justin Becker were named Big Ten Athletes of the Week, after Vanos' weight throw victory and Becker's performances in the 60m and 200m.
NEXT UP: ON TO CHICAGO TO OPEN 2023
Following a break for the holidays, Purdue returns to the track on Saturday, January 14, at the Big Ten Invitational in Chicago. The competition will be held at the year-old Track & Field Center at Gately Park and is the first of two meets in the Windy City for the Boilermakers in 2023.
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 meet commences with field events at 10:30 a.m. ET, and running events begin at 12:15 p.m. The final event, the 4x400 relay, is set for 4:30 p.m. Admission is free for all fans in Lambert Fieldhouse.
Purdue's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is hosting a clothing drive during the meet. They will be collecting winter items such as hats, jackets, waterproof gloves, hand warmers, long underwear, etc. All donations will go to the Lafayette Transitional Housing Center.
Fans unable to watch in person can follow along with live results at PTTiming.com, and the meet schedule is available at PurdueSports.com/TrackField. Additional updates can be found by following and connecting with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, while direct links are available on the schedule page at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.
The Boilermakers will be joined by four teams at the season-opening meet, as FIU, Northern Colorado, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee State travel to West Lafayette. Thirty-two events, 16 men's and 16 women's, will be contested.
Purdue will have a total of 86 entries on Saturday in 25 of the 32 events.
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2021-22 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD SEASON
The Boilermakers won five Big Ten medals, recorded 31 top-10 marks in program history and broke one school record during the 2021-22 indoor track & field season.
At the Big Ten Championships, the men were seventh overall to earn a fourth consecutive top-seven finish. That streak comes after they placed outside of the top nine in each of the previous four years (2015-18) and in nine of the previous 13 (2006-18). Then-junior Safin Wills was the Big Ten runner-up in the triple jump to earn All-Big Ten Second Team accolades, and he added a bronze medal in the long jump. Then-freshman Praise Aniamaka (triple jump), then-freshman Shianne Dacosta (400m) and then-senior Antonio Mitchell II (200m) also earned bronze-medal finishes.
The 31 top-10 marks in the school record book came in 13 different events. Then-senior Curt Eckstein broke the Purdue record in the 3,000 meters, with a time of 7:57.69. Additionally, Aniamaka set the Canadian Under-20 record in the triple jump, with a jump of 15.89m that also is No. 6 in school history.
Academically during the 2021-22 indoor and outdoor track & field campaign, 43 Boilermakers were recognized on the Academic All-Big Ten Team and 18 were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars. Both the men's and women's teams, and eight individuals, were bestowed with USTFCCCA All-Academic Team distinction.
LAST TIME AT LAMBERT FIELDHOUSE
Purdue hosted two meets at Lambert Fieldhouse in 2021-22, the Fred Wilt Open and the Gene Edmonds Invitational.
At the season-opening Fred Wilt Open on December 4, 2021, the Boilermakers won 15 of the 21 events they competed in, with seven victories by newcomers making their collegiate or Purdue debuts. Three top-10 marks in the school record books were achieved along with eight personal-best marks by returners. Aniamaka (triple jump), then-sophomore K'Ja Talley (60m hurdles) and then-senior Kelly Cook Jr. (weight throw) earned top-10 marks in school history, and Talley led the team with two victories, in the 60m hurdles and the 300m.
One month later, Purdue won 13 events at the Gene Edmonds Invitational on January 8, 2022. The Boilermakers added 16 runner-up finishes and claimed both first and second place in nine events. Eight of Purdue's wins came in field events and 17 personal-best marks were achieved. Following the meet, then-senior Johnny Vanos and then-junior Justin Becker were named Big Ten Athletes of the Week, after Vanos' weight throw victory and Becker's performances in the 60m and 200m.
NEXT UP: ON TO CHICAGO TO OPEN 2023
Following a break for the holidays, Purdue returns to the track on Saturday, January 14, at the Big Ten Invitational in Chicago. The competition will be held at the year-old Track & Field Center at Gately Park and is the first of two meets in the Windy City for the Boilermakers in 2023.
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.