LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Five top-10 marks in school history were set as the Purdue track & field team wrapped up competition at the two-day Lenny Lyles Invitational on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky.
A pair of record book marks came in the heptathlon and another two were in the triple jump, along with one in the high jump to highlight the Boilermakers' first multi-day meet of the indoor season. Purdue added three wins on Saturday and six more top-three finishes along with 13 personal-record marks and two season-bests at the Norton Healthcare Sport and Learning Center.
In total over the two days, the Boilermakers won four events, were runners-up four times and placed third five times. They registered 28 PRs and seven season bests to complement the five top-10 marks.
The performances came against a highly-competitive national field that featured more than 40 teams. Along with host-Louisville, the Boilermakers were joined by fellow Big Ten foes Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State.
"This was our biggest meet so far this season and we finished better than last week's showing," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We still have work to do, but I was notably proud of our men's performance. On the women's side, we are young and have had a few setbacks, but we still have time for others to post better marks in the Big Ten."
Freshman Andreas Hantson wasted no time entering the record book. In his first collegiate heptathlon, he earned 5,417 points, third-most in school history and 11th-best in the NCAA this season. Hantson picked up personal-bests in three of the seven events on the way to a fifth-place showing overall.
Meanwhile, senior teammate Logan Sandlin earned a personal-best 5,169 points to enter the top-10 list at No. 6. He also notched three PRs, with one coming on Saturday, and was seventh overall.
Hantson posted two personal-bests to begin day two (60m hurdles, 8.91 and pole vault, 4.50 meters) before he and Sandlin went one-two in the 1,000-meters for a record-breaking finish. Hantson was first overall in 2:41.90, just ahead of Sandlin in second, in a personal-record 2:43.38. Both times broke the previous meet and facility records for a heptathlon 1,000m run.
Juniors Rieko Wilford and Damazvia Dames each posted top-10 marks in the triple jump. As they finished second and third in the event, Wilford jumped 12.64m and Dames jumped 12.49m. Wilford entered the day in a tie for 10th place all-time but moved up to sixth with the best mark by a Boilermaker since the Purdue record was set in 2014. Dames entered the all-time list at No. 9 with the team's best jump since 2016, besides today's mark by Wilford.
Wilford and Dames both notched the first two jumps to be in the top-nine in school history since 2016, while Wilford is the first to achieve a jump of at least 12.50m since 2014.
In the last event of the day, and with the entire team on the track cheering on, freshman Bode Gilkerson added one more top-10 mark in the high jump. He cleared 2.15m to tie for ninth place on Purdue's list with the first record book jump by a Boilermaker since 2018. Gilkerson was third overall on misses, as he tied for the second-best clearance.
Sophomore Collin Kao won the pole vault with a clearance of 5.02m. It's his second victory in the last three meets, as the Boilermakers have won all four men's pole vault titles to begin the 2023-24 indoor season. Kao was one of four to clear 5.02m, but took the win on misses. Junior Grant Gogel also cleared 5.02m, a personal-best, and was fourth overall.
On the track, junior Brett Otterbacher was victorious in the 400m in 47.37. In a tightly contested race, Otterbacher won by 0.07 seconds.
A pair of freshmen recorded runner-up finishes. Alexia Smith was second in the 400m, in 55.03, and Ally Wigand ran the 5,000m in 17:38.43. Smith was running the 400m for the first time collegiately.
Senior Geno Christofanelli and the men's 4x400 relay team each picked up third-place finishes. Christofanelli ran a personal-best 5,000m time of 14:36.34 while the relay squad crossed the finish line in 3:11.48.
Additional personal-record marks were achieved by senior Payne Turney (mile, 4:48.28), juniors Jahn Riley (400m, 47.93) and Zoe Sullivan (60m, 7.71) and sophomore John Hanson (shot put, 16.45m).
Season-bests were earned by senior Alex Frey (mile, 4:15.27) and sophomore Daniel Affleck (pole vault, 4.57m).
On Friday to open the meet, sophomore Bryanna Craig won the pentathlon, junior Zoe Sullivan won the unseeded 200-meter, freshman James Ammenhauser was second in the long jump and sophomore Nolan Macklin placed third in the seeded 200m.
Next weekend, Purdue heads to in-state foe Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational. Action is set for February 2-3 in South Bend, Indiana.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook.
A pair of record book marks came in the heptathlon and another two were in the triple jump, along with one in the high jump to highlight the Boilermakers' first multi-day meet of the indoor season. Purdue added three wins on Saturday and six more top-three finishes along with 13 personal-record marks and two season-bests at the Norton Healthcare Sport and Learning Center.
In total over the two days, the Boilermakers won four events, were runners-up four times and placed third five times. They registered 28 PRs and seven season bests to complement the five top-10 marks.
The performances came against a highly-competitive national field that featured more than 40 teams. Along with host-Louisville, the Boilermakers were joined by fellow Big Ten foes Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State.
"This was our biggest meet so far this season and we finished better than last week's showing," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "We still have work to do, but I was notably proud of our men's performance. On the women's side, we are young and have had a few setbacks, but we still have time for others to post better marks in the Big Ten."
Freshman Andreas Hantson wasted no time entering the record book. In his first collegiate heptathlon, he earned 5,417 points, third-most in school history and 11th-best in the NCAA this season. Hantson picked up personal-bests in three of the seven events on the way to a fifth-place showing overall.
Meanwhile, senior teammate Logan Sandlin earned a personal-best 5,169 points to enter the top-10 list at No. 6. He also notched three PRs, with one coming on Saturday, and was seventh overall.
Hantson posted two personal-bests to begin day two (60m hurdles, 8.91 and pole vault, 4.50 meters) before he and Sandlin went one-two in the 1,000-meters for a record-breaking finish. Hantson was first overall in 2:41.90, just ahead of Sandlin in second, in a personal-record 2:43.38. Both times broke the previous meet and facility records for a heptathlon 1,000m run.
Juniors Rieko Wilford and Damazvia Dames each posted top-10 marks in the triple jump. As they finished second and third in the event, Wilford jumped 12.64m and Dames jumped 12.49m. Wilford entered the day in a tie for 10th place all-time but moved up to sixth with the best mark by a Boilermaker since the Purdue record was set in 2014. Dames entered the all-time list at No. 9 with the team's best jump since 2016, besides today's mark by Wilford.
Wilford and Dames both notched the first two jumps to be in the top-nine in school history since 2016, while Wilford is the first to achieve a jump of at least 12.50m since 2014.
In the last event of the day, and with the entire team on the track cheering on, freshman Bode Gilkerson added one more top-10 mark in the high jump. He cleared 2.15m to tie for ninth place on Purdue's list with the first record book jump by a Boilermaker since 2018. Gilkerson was third overall on misses, as he tied for the second-best clearance.
Sophomore Collin Kao won the pole vault with a clearance of 5.02m. It's his second victory in the last three meets, as the Boilermakers have won all four men's pole vault titles to begin the 2023-24 indoor season. Kao was one of four to clear 5.02m, but took the win on misses. Junior Grant Gogel also cleared 5.02m, a personal-best, and was fourth overall.
On the track, junior Brett Otterbacher was victorious in the 400m in 47.37. In a tightly contested race, Otterbacher won by 0.07 seconds.
A pair of freshmen recorded runner-up finishes. Alexia Smith was second in the 400m, in 55.03, and Ally Wigand ran the 5,000m in 17:38.43. Smith was running the 400m for the first time collegiately.
Senior Geno Christofanelli and the men's 4x400 relay team each picked up third-place finishes. Christofanelli ran a personal-best 5,000m time of 14:36.34 while the relay squad crossed the finish line in 3:11.48.
Additional personal-record marks were achieved by senior Payne Turney (mile, 4:48.28), juniors Jahn Riley (400m, 47.93) and Zoe Sullivan (60m, 7.71) and sophomore John Hanson (shot put, 16.45m).
Season-bests were earned by senior Alex Frey (mile, 4:15.27) and sophomore Daniel Affleck (pole vault, 4.57m).
On Friday to open the meet, sophomore Bryanna Craig won the pentathlon, junior Zoe Sullivan won the unseeded 200-meter, freshman James Ammenhauser was second in the long jump and sophomore Nolan Macklin placed third in the seeded 200m.
Next weekend, Purdue heads to in-state foe Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational. Action is set for February 2-3 in South Bend, Indiana.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook.