GENEVA, Ohio – The Purdue track & field team won a silver medal and earned two more podium finishes to lead the way on the opening day of the 2024 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
Sophomore Bryanna Craig was the runner-up in the pentathlon, one of three Boilermakers to earn a top-eight finish, while five runners advanced to Saturday's final. Six top-10 marks in school history were set as a total of 12 personal-records and nine season-bests were achieved on the first day of the two-day conference championship meet.
Craig was joined on the podium by junior Jalen Elrod, who was sixth in the pentathlon, and sophomore Collin Kao, who was eighth in the pole vault. Elrod was one of the six Boilermakers to post a record-book mark, as she is now seventh all-time in the pentathlon. Juniors Brett Otterbacher and Zoe Sullivan both moved up to second in school history in the 400-meter and 60m hurdles, respectively, and freshman Nia Wilson is fourth all-time in the 60m as all three runners advanced to tomorrow's final.
Graduate student Cameron Miller, in the 200m, and freshman Jasiah Rogers, in the 60m, joined Otterbacher, Sullivan and Wilson with times that qualified them for the final in their respective events. Freshman Alexia Smith and junior Damazvia Dames also registered record-book marks, at No. 8 in the 400m and No. 10 in the long jump, respectively.
Purdue was one of two schools with two competitors to reach the podium in the pentathlon. Craig led the way for the Boilermakers with a season-best 3,992 points to take silver, and Elrod was sixth with a personal-record 3,815 points. Craig's silver medal is her third in three career Big Ten meets, as she also was second in the pentathlon indoors and the heptathlon outdoors as a freshman in 2023. In her first year in the Old Gold and Black, Elrod entered the school's top-10 list at No. 7 as she earned her first Big Ten podium finish. It's Elrod's 13th career top-eight finish at a conference championship, after she posted 12 in two years at Prairie View in the SWAC.
Craig's 3,992 points were fueled by a personal-best mark in one event and season-bests in the other four events. She was in fifth place after two events before a PR of 11.57 meters in the shot put moved her up to fourth. Back to fifth with just the 800m to go, she finished third with a time of 2:15.97, which moved her up to second place overall. It was a tight competition throughout, as the three medalists all finished within just 25 points of each other.
Elrod, who finished sixth overall with 3,815 points, wasn't far behind, less than 200 points behind the winner. Her personal-record day included a best in the shot put of 10.93m, a PR-tying long jump (5.82m), where she was third overall, and a season-best time in the 800m (2:16.84) to place fourth. That strong finish propelled Elrod up eight spots in the final two events, as she was 14th overall after three events and 11th after four before a five-place jump up thanks to the 800m.
As the day-long pentathlon was concluding, Kao cleared 5.03m in the pole vault to secure a three-way tie for eighth place. At his first Big Ten meet, Kao became the first Boilermaker pole vaulter to reach the podium at the Big Ten Championships, indoors or outdoors, since 2015.
Otterbacher was the first to punch their ticket to Saturday's final, as he did it in the 400m. His time of 46.83 was fourth in the prelims and moved him up one spot to No. 2 in program history. The fastest time since the record-setting time was achieved by Brian Faust in 2021, Otterbacher was one of four runners to best 47.00 seconds on Friday.
The next event was the 60m, where Wilson was seventh in 7.39 seconds to add her name to Saturday's finals qualifiers. She improved her time at No. 4 in school history by 0.01 seconds and was in the final by 0.02 seconds. The 7.39 is the best mark by a Boilermaker since 2017, when two of the three fastest times were set.
Rogers was the next to advance to the final, as he ran a 6.72 in the 60m to finish sixth in the prelims. Rogers was in by 0.07 seconds as he placed second in his heat.
Sullivan impressively joined Purdue's qualifiers with an 8.24 in the 60m hurdles that is second in the record books. As she finished seventh in the prelims, Sullivan posted the fastest time by a runner in the Old Gold and Black since Devynne Charlton, now the world record holder in the event, set the Purdue record of 7.93 in 2017.
Miller rounded out the Boilermakers to advance, as he moved on in the 200m. His time of 20.91 was first in his heat and third overall.
Smith ran the 400m in 54.19 to enter the top-10 list at No. 8. Her personal-best time was ninth in the prelims, just 0.03 seconds shy of a top-eight finish and a spot in the final.
Dames was 10th in the long jump to break into the record books tied for No. 10. Her PR of 5.95m is the best by a Boilermaker since 2020.
Additional personal bests were recorded by sophomore Rebecca Caliendo (weight throw, 17.56m) and freshmen Andreas Hantson (heptathlon shot put, 12.74m) and Nickens Lemba (400m, 47.55). Season-bests were notched by senior Alex Frey (5,000m, 15:10.09) and sophomores Nolan Macklin (60m, 6.81) and Eric Young II (200m, 21.80).
The championships conclude on Saturday, as the heptathlon gets the day going at 11 a.m. ET. The Boilermakers' opening field event is the women's triple jump at noon and running events for Purdue commence at 1:50 with the men's 400m final. The championships will close with the 4x400 relay at 4:55 p.m.
Fans unable to cheer on the Boilermakers in person can follow along with live results and watch all the action live on B1G+ (Saturday Field | Saturday Track), with a B1G+ subscription required. Championships information, including the complete schedule, is available at BigTen.org/ITFChamps. Additional updates from Geneva also can be found by following and connecting with the Boilermakers on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook, while direct links 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/X, Instagram and Facebook.
Sophomore Bryanna Craig was the runner-up in the pentathlon, one of three Boilermakers to earn a top-eight finish, while five runners advanced to Saturday's final. Six top-10 marks in school history were set as a total of 12 personal-records and nine season-bests were achieved on the first day of the two-day conference championship meet.
Craig was joined on the podium by junior Jalen Elrod, who was sixth in the pentathlon, and sophomore Collin Kao, who was eighth in the pole vault. Elrod was one of the six Boilermakers to post a record-book mark, as she is now seventh all-time in the pentathlon. Juniors Brett Otterbacher and Zoe Sullivan both moved up to second in school history in the 400-meter and 60m hurdles, respectively, and freshman Nia Wilson is fourth all-time in the 60m as all three runners advanced to tomorrow's final.
Graduate student Cameron Miller, in the 200m, and freshman Jasiah Rogers, in the 60m, joined Otterbacher, Sullivan and Wilson with times that qualified them for the final in their respective events. Freshman Alexia Smith and junior Damazvia Dames also registered record-book marks, at No. 8 in the 400m and No. 10 in the long jump, respectively.
Purdue was one of two schools with two competitors to reach the podium in the pentathlon. Craig led the way for the Boilermakers with a season-best 3,992 points to take silver, and Elrod was sixth with a personal-record 3,815 points. Craig's silver medal is her third in three career Big Ten meets, as she also was second in the pentathlon indoors and the heptathlon outdoors as a freshman in 2023. In her first year in the Old Gold and Black, Elrod entered the school's top-10 list at No. 7 as she earned her first Big Ten podium finish. It's Elrod's 13th career top-eight finish at a conference championship, after she posted 12 in two years at Prairie View in the SWAC.
Craig's 3,992 points were fueled by a personal-best mark in one event and season-bests in the other four events. She was in fifth place after two events before a PR of 11.57 meters in the shot put moved her up to fourth. Back to fifth with just the 800m to go, she finished third with a time of 2:15.97, which moved her up to second place overall. It was a tight competition throughout, as the three medalists all finished within just 25 points of each other.
Elrod, who finished sixth overall with 3,815 points, wasn't far behind, less than 200 points behind the winner. Her personal-record day included a best in the shot put of 10.93m, a PR-tying long jump (5.82m), where she was third overall, and a season-best time in the 800m (2:16.84) to place fourth. That strong finish propelled Elrod up eight spots in the final two events, as she was 14th overall after three events and 11th after four before a five-place jump up thanks to the 800m.
As the day-long pentathlon was concluding, Kao cleared 5.03m in the pole vault to secure a three-way tie for eighth place. At his first Big Ten meet, Kao became the first Boilermaker pole vaulter to reach the podium at the Big Ten Championships, indoors or outdoors, since 2015.
Otterbacher was the first to punch their ticket to Saturday's final, as he did it in the 400m. His time of 46.83 was fourth in the prelims and moved him up one spot to No. 2 in program history. The fastest time since the record-setting time was achieved by Brian Faust in 2021, Otterbacher was one of four runners to best 47.00 seconds on Friday.
The next event was the 60m, where Wilson was seventh in 7.39 seconds to add her name to Saturday's finals qualifiers. She improved her time at No. 4 in school history by 0.01 seconds and was in the final by 0.02 seconds. The 7.39 is the best mark by a Boilermaker since 2017, when two of the three fastest times were set.
Rogers was the next to advance to the final, as he ran a 6.72 in the 60m to finish sixth in the prelims. Rogers was in by 0.07 seconds as he placed second in his heat.
Sullivan impressively joined Purdue's qualifiers with an 8.24 in the 60m hurdles that is second in the record books. As she finished seventh in the prelims, Sullivan posted the fastest time by a runner in the Old Gold and Black since Devynne Charlton, now the world record holder in the event, set the Purdue record of 7.93 in 2017.
Miller rounded out the Boilermakers to advance, as he moved on in the 200m. His time of 20.91 was first in his heat and third overall.
Smith ran the 400m in 54.19 to enter the top-10 list at No. 8. Her personal-best time was ninth in the prelims, just 0.03 seconds shy of a top-eight finish and a spot in the final.
Dames was 10th in the long jump to break into the record books tied for No. 10. Her PR of 5.95m is the best by a Boilermaker since 2020.
Additional personal bests were recorded by sophomore Rebecca Caliendo (weight throw, 17.56m) and freshmen Andreas Hantson (heptathlon shot put, 12.74m) and Nickens Lemba (400m, 47.55). Season-bests were notched by senior Alex Frey (5,000m, 15:10.09) and sophomores Nolan Macklin (60m, 6.81) and Eric Young II (200m, 21.80).
The championships conclude on Saturday, as the heptathlon gets the day going at 11 a.m. ET. The Boilermakers' opening field event is the women's triple jump at noon and running events for Purdue commence at 1:50 with the men's 400m final. The championships will close with the 4x400 relay at 4:55 p.m.
Fans unable to cheer on the Boilermakers in person can follow along with live results and watch all the action live on B1G+ (Saturday Field | Saturday Track), with a B1G+ subscription required. Championships information, including the complete schedule, is available at BigTen.org/ITFChamps. Additional updates from Geneva also can be found by following and connecting with the Boilermakers on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook, while direct links 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/X, Instagram and Facebook.