ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Purdue track & field team won three individual Big Ten titles on Sunday to conclude the 2024 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Graduate student Cameron Miller won the 200-meter, junior Praise Aniamaka repeated as the triple jump champion with a meet-record mark and sophomore Seth Allen claimed the title in the discus. The trio of gold-medal-winners were joined by the men's 4x400 relay, who took bronze on the third and final day of the three-day championships. Additionally, freshman Andreas Hantson was the runner-up in the decathlon on Saturday.
The Boilermakers earned 10 top-eight finishes on Sunday and totaled 19 trips to the podium on the weekend. Among Purdue's point-scorers, graduate student Safin Wills and junior Zoe Sullivan reached the podium in multiple events. Wills was fifth in the triple jump on Sunday after he also placed fifth in the long jump on Saturday. Sullivan notched a fourth-place finish in the 100m hurdles and helped the 4x100 relay to a sixth place showing.
As a team, the Purdue men were sixth with 64 points and the women tied for 10th with 25 points. Both teams improved on their finishes from last season, as the men rose six spots in the standings, into the top half of the Big Ten, with a 42-point improvement. The Boilermakers' three individual titles are the team's most since 2019.
"Our men had a very good showing," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "They moved up several places from this past indoor season, and we finished with three high-quality wins by Cam, Praise and Seth. Our women showed great promise, but we have lots of room to improve."
A meet-record jump helped Aniamaka defend his Big Ten triple jump title as Purdue won its fifth consecutive championship in the event. A jump of 16.49m tops the previous meet record of 16.18m set in 2000 and is No. 2 in Purdue history and the best since 2000. It came on Aniamaka's fifth attempt and moved him into first place from fourth. The jump was a PR for the junior by 0.39m.
As Aniamaka won his second straight gold medal, he claimed his fifth career Big Ten medal, all in the triple jump. His two golds go along with one silver and three bronzes. Purdue has won nine outdoor men's triple jump titles, including the last five in a row. Aniamaka's last two were preceded by Wills in 2022 and Tamar Greene in 2019 and 2021.
Miller won the 200m in 19.97-w. He was victorious by 0.08 seconds and medaled by a 0.36 second margin. The first-year Boilermaker won his first Big Ten title and second Big Ten medal and claimed his second conference championship, along with a 200m win indoors a year ago in the ACC. It's Miller's seventh career conference medal and fourth individually. Miller already owns the school record in the event, and if today's time weren't wind-aided, it would be the first legal time by Purdue under 20.00 seconds.
The Boilermakers have now won five Big Ten championships in the 200m, with the last coming by Raheem Mostert in 2014.
Allen's victory in the discus came with a personal-best throw of 60.95m. His day was powered by strong throws on his final two attempts, with his fifth mark moving him up to second from fourth. Allen's sixth attempt then was what clinched the title and a spot at No. 2 in the Boilermaker record books. Allen won by 0.99m, improved his PR by 1.63m and posted Purdue's best mark since the record was set in 2018.
On the podium for the first time in his career, Allen won the 10th discus title in school history. It's the first gold medal since Bill Hardcastle won his second championship in the event since 2010.
The day concluded with a bronze-medal showing in the men's 4x400 relay. Purdue ran a season-best time of 3:06.97, a mark that is No. 5 in school history and the best since 2019. The finish was earned by senior Jahn Riley, junior Brett Otterbacher, freshman Nickens Lemba and sophomore Connor Czajkowski.
Sullivan's second event of her day was the 100m hurdles, where she was fourth in 13.37. A personal-best in all conditions, she topped her prelim time of 13.38 on Saturday to improve her mark at No. 5 in program history. Sullivan recorded her third Big Ten podium finish and sixth of her career, third outdoors.
Wills posted his second fifth-place finish of the weekend in the triple jump. A jump of 15.95m on his sixth and final attempt moved him up from sixth place. It was Wills' best jump as a Boilermaker and put him into the top-10 list at No. 8. Sunday's performance comes after Wills was fifth in the long jump on Saturday. With this weekend's showings, Wills now owns seven Big Ten podium finishes and 11 career conference top-eight placings both indoors and outdoors.
Junior Nathan Walker used a strong finish to the 5,000m to finish sixth in 14:16.85. He was in 11th place with 1,600m left but rose to sixth in the next 1,200m and crossed the finish line in sixth by almost three seconds. Walker earned his second career Big Ten podium finish.
Freshman Alexia Smith also was sixth in the 400m final. She crossed the finish line in 53.58 and edged out the seventh-place finisher by 0.09 seconds. It is Smith's first time on the podium.
Action on the track began with the 4x100, where the women were sixth in 44.80 seconds. The season-best time was run by Sullivan, freshmen Nia Wilson, Jada Lee and Alyssa Tate.
Junior Grant Gogel cleared a personal-best 5.01m in the pole vault to reach the podium in eighth place. As a placed in the top eight for the first time in his career, Gogel benefited from a second-attempt clearance at 5.01m to earn the spot on the podium on misses.
On Saturday, Hantson was the runner-up in the decathlon as eight Boilermakers stood on the podium. On Friday to begin the three-meet championships, junior Cale Ayers was seventh in the hammer throw.
In two weeks, qualifying Boilermakers will compete at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Lexington, Kentucky, from May 22-25. The list of those that qualified for the regional meet will be announced next week.
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.
Graduate student Cameron Miller won the 200-meter, junior Praise Aniamaka repeated as the triple jump champion with a meet-record mark and sophomore Seth Allen claimed the title in the discus. The trio of gold-medal-winners were joined by the men's 4x400 relay, who took bronze on the third and final day of the three-day championships. Additionally, freshman Andreas Hantson was the runner-up in the decathlon on Saturday.
The Boilermakers earned 10 top-eight finishes on Sunday and totaled 19 trips to the podium on the weekend. Among Purdue's point-scorers, graduate student Safin Wills and junior Zoe Sullivan reached the podium in multiple events. Wills was fifth in the triple jump on Sunday after he also placed fifth in the long jump on Saturday. Sullivan notched a fourth-place finish in the 100m hurdles and helped the 4x100 relay to a sixth place showing.
As a team, the Purdue men were sixth with 64 points and the women tied for 10th with 25 points. Both teams improved on their finishes from last season, as the men rose six spots in the standings, into the top half of the Big Ten, with a 42-point improvement. The Boilermakers' three individual titles are the team's most since 2019.
"Our men had a very good showing," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "They moved up several places from this past indoor season, and we finished with three high-quality wins by Cam, Praise and Seth. Our women showed great promise, but we have lots of room to improve."
A meet-record jump helped Aniamaka defend his Big Ten triple jump title as Purdue won its fifth consecutive championship in the event. A jump of 16.49m tops the previous meet record of 16.18m set in 2000 and is No. 2 in Purdue history and the best since 2000. It came on Aniamaka's fifth attempt and moved him into first place from fourth. The jump was a PR for the junior by 0.39m.
As Aniamaka won his second straight gold medal, he claimed his fifth career Big Ten medal, all in the triple jump. His two golds go along with one silver and three bronzes. Purdue has won nine outdoor men's triple jump titles, including the last five in a row. Aniamaka's last two were preceded by Wills in 2022 and Tamar Greene in 2019 and 2021.
Miller won the 200m in 19.97-w. He was victorious by 0.08 seconds and medaled by a 0.36 second margin. The first-year Boilermaker won his first Big Ten title and second Big Ten medal and claimed his second conference championship, along with a 200m win indoors a year ago in the ACC. It's Miller's seventh career conference medal and fourth individually. Miller already owns the school record in the event, and if today's time weren't wind-aided, it would be the first legal time by Purdue under 20.00 seconds.
The Boilermakers have now won five Big Ten championships in the 200m, with the last coming by Raheem Mostert in 2014.
Allen's victory in the discus came with a personal-best throw of 60.95m. His day was powered by strong throws on his final two attempts, with his fifth mark moving him up to second from fourth. Allen's sixth attempt then was what clinched the title and a spot at No. 2 in the Boilermaker record books. Allen won by 0.99m, improved his PR by 1.63m and posted Purdue's best mark since the record was set in 2018.
On the podium for the first time in his career, Allen won the 10th discus title in school history. It's the first gold medal since Bill Hardcastle won his second championship in the event since 2010.
The day concluded with a bronze-medal showing in the men's 4x400 relay. Purdue ran a season-best time of 3:06.97, a mark that is No. 5 in school history and the best since 2019. The finish was earned by senior Jahn Riley, junior Brett Otterbacher, freshman Nickens Lemba and sophomore Connor Czajkowski.
Sullivan's second event of her day was the 100m hurdles, where she was fourth in 13.37. A personal-best in all conditions, she topped her prelim time of 13.38 on Saturday to improve her mark at No. 5 in program history. Sullivan recorded her third Big Ten podium finish and sixth of her career, third outdoors.
Wills posted his second fifth-place finish of the weekend in the triple jump. A jump of 15.95m on his sixth and final attempt moved him up from sixth place. It was Wills' best jump as a Boilermaker and put him into the top-10 list at No. 8. Sunday's performance comes after Wills was fifth in the long jump on Saturday. With this weekend's showings, Wills now owns seven Big Ten podium finishes and 11 career conference top-eight placings both indoors and outdoors.
Junior Nathan Walker used a strong finish to the 5,000m to finish sixth in 14:16.85. He was in 11th place with 1,600m left but rose to sixth in the next 1,200m and crossed the finish line in sixth by almost three seconds. Walker earned his second career Big Ten podium finish.
Freshman Alexia Smith also was sixth in the 400m final. She crossed the finish line in 53.58 and edged out the seventh-place finisher by 0.09 seconds. It is Smith's first time on the podium.
Action on the track began with the 4x100, where the women were sixth in 44.80 seconds. The season-best time was run by Sullivan, freshmen Nia Wilson, Jada Lee and Alyssa Tate.
Junior Grant Gogel cleared a personal-best 5.01m in the pole vault to reach the podium in eighth place. As a placed in the top eight for the first time in his career, Gogel benefited from a second-attempt clearance at 5.01m to earn the spot on the podium on misses.
On Saturday, Hantson was the runner-up in the decathlon as eight Boilermakers stood on the podium. On Friday to begin the three-meet championships, junior Cale Ayers was seventh in the hammer throw.
In two weeks, qualifying Boilermakers will compete at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Lexington, Kentucky, from May 22-25. The list of those that qualified for the regional meet will be announced next week.
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.