WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Track & Field added sophomore Marissa Palmer to the women’s roster ahead of the 2025-26 season. She will report to the team in January.
Palmer spent her freshman season at Georgia State under head coach Ricardo Page, who was Purdue’s throws coach from 2021-24 before he spent last season as the Panthers’ head coach and then returned to Purdue this season.
The Hanover, Jamaica native had a personal-best 11.38 in the 100m and 23.09 in the 200m (both wind-legal) that would have led Purdue last season. Her 200m time would rank second in school history, while her 100m time would rank third.
Both times would have ranked top 15 overall in the Big Ten. In freshmen rankings, her 200m time would have tied the best in the Big Ten and her 100m time would have ranked fourth.
Palmer qualified for the NCAA East First Round in both the 100m and 200m. She advanced to the semifinals in the 200m and finished 17th, just five places shy of qualifying for nationals. Only three freshmen topped Palmer’s performance at the NCAA East First Round.
During her first indoor campaign, Palmer ran 7.46 in the 60m and 23.99 in the 200m. Her times are 0.02 and 0.04 seconds, respectively, from Purdue’s top 10 all-time records.
Nationally, Palmer competed for Jamaica over the summer and won the 4x100m at the Pan American Junior Games in Paraguay. She also participated in the Jamaican Championships in the 100m and 200m.
Purdue looks ahead to the indoor season that begins Jan. 9-10 at the Rod McCravy Memorial in Louisville, Kentucky.
