CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A pair of top-10 times and two victories propelled the Purdue track & field team at the Fighting Illini Challenge on Saturday, April 8, in Champaign, Illinois.
On a windy, cool and sun-soaked day at Illinois' Demirjian Park, junior Alex Frey and sophomore Nathan Walker etched their name in the Boilermaker record book in the 1,500-meter with the ninth- and 10th-fastest times in school history. Senior Kerris Roberts and junior K'Ja Talley added wins in the 200m and 400m hurdles, respectively.
Frey and Walker posted two of the Boilermakers' 15 personal-best marks on Saturday, while another four season-bests were achieved. Four made their outdoor collegiate debuts, another four made their outdoor season debuts and five competed in their events for the first time in the Old Gold and Black.
Along with Purdue and host-Illinois, the 19-team field at the Fighting Illini Challenge included Big Ten foes Iowa and Northwestern.
In the 1,500m, Frey finished in 3:47.41 and Walker was right behind him in 3:47.42. The pair stamped their name on Purdue's top-10 list at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. Frey's personal-record time was by nearly five seconds and Walker's came by 0.74 seconds. They placed third and fourth overall in the race.
The next event on the track for the Boilermakers was the 400m hurdles, where Talley won in 59.79 seconds. She was the lone runner to finish in less than one minute, as her first-heat time proved to be the fastest overall.
Roberts added a win of her own in the 200m, as she finished in 23.78. The victory, by 0.24 seconds, came one week after Roberts moved up in the school record books in the event.
Two freshman registered runner-up finishes on Saturday. Seth Allen was second in the discus thanks to a personal-best throw of 51.97 meters. The mark came on his fifth attempt and was his second PR of the day. Connor Czajkowski took silver in the 200m, as he finished in 21.20 to edge out the third-place finisher by 0.02 seconds and the fourth-place runner by 0.04.
Frey was one of four Boilermakers to place third in their event. He was joined by junior Caroline Jordan (5,000m, 17:12.64, PR), sophomore Jason Polydoris (5,000m, 14:22.09) and freshman Danny Affleck (pole vault, 4.60m, PR).
Personal-record marks also were achieved by fifth-year John Pieper (1,500m, 3:52.12), juniors Nikia Smith (100m, 12.29m), Payne Turney (800m, 2:12.89) and Caleb Williams (1,500m, 3:51.76), sophomores Ikeava Bryant (discus, 39.84m and shot put, 13.43m) and Paul Goins (110m hurdles, 14.64m) and freshmen Connor Czajkowski (100m, 10.65m), Leo Maxwell (shot put, 15.42m) and Keon Perkins-Sullivan (hammer, 49.51m).
Next weekend, the Old Gold and Black are back on the road at a pair of meets. Purdue will compete at the Louisville Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky and the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida, from April 14-15.
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.
On a windy, cool and sun-soaked day at Illinois' Demirjian Park, junior Alex Frey and sophomore Nathan Walker etched their name in the Boilermaker record book in the 1,500-meter with the ninth- and 10th-fastest times in school history. Senior Kerris Roberts and junior K'Ja Talley added wins in the 200m and 400m hurdles, respectively.
Frey and Walker posted two of the Boilermakers' 15 personal-best marks on Saturday, while another four season-bests were achieved. Four made their outdoor collegiate debuts, another four made their outdoor season debuts and five competed in their events for the first time in the Old Gold and Black.
Along with Purdue and host-Illinois, the 19-team field at the Fighting Illini Challenge included Big Ten foes Iowa and Northwestern.
In the 1,500m, Frey finished in 3:47.41 and Walker was right behind him in 3:47.42. The pair stamped their name on Purdue's top-10 list at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. Frey's personal-record time was by nearly five seconds and Walker's came by 0.74 seconds. They placed third and fourth overall in the race.
The next event on the track for the Boilermakers was the 400m hurdles, where Talley won in 59.79 seconds. She was the lone runner to finish in less than one minute, as her first-heat time proved to be the fastest overall.
Roberts added a win of her own in the 200m, as she finished in 23.78. The victory, by 0.24 seconds, came one week after Roberts moved up in the school record books in the event.
Two freshman registered runner-up finishes on Saturday. Seth Allen was second in the discus thanks to a personal-best throw of 51.97 meters. The mark came on his fifth attempt and was his second PR of the day. Connor Czajkowski took silver in the 200m, as he finished in 21.20 to edge out the third-place finisher by 0.02 seconds and the fourth-place runner by 0.04.
Frey was one of four Boilermakers to place third in their event. He was joined by junior Caroline Jordan (5,000m, 17:12.64, PR), sophomore Jason Polydoris (5,000m, 14:22.09) and freshman Danny Affleck (pole vault, 4.60m, PR).
Personal-record marks also were achieved by fifth-year John Pieper (1,500m, 3:52.12), juniors Nikia Smith (100m, 12.29m), Payne Turney (800m, 2:12.89) and Caleb Williams (1,500m, 3:51.76), sophomores Ikeava Bryant (discus, 39.84m and shot put, 13.43m) and Paul Goins (110m hurdles, 14.64m) and freshmen Connor Czajkowski (100m, 10.65m), Leo Maxwell (shot put, 15.42m) and Keon Perkins-Sullivan (hammer, 49.51m).
Next weekend, the Old Gold and Black are back on the road at a pair of meets. Purdue will compete at the Louisville Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky and the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida, from April 14-15.
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.