WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Track & Field’s Alexia Smith and Samuel Vessat were named Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Athletes to Watch, the conference announced Tuesday.
Smith is entering her junior year after scoring points in four events last season between the indoor and outdoor seasons. She ended the 2025 indoor season with the No. 4 400m time in program history (52.88) to finish sixth at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. She also guided the 4x400m team to a fifth-place finish at Big Tens with the No. 8 time in program history (3:36.32).
The Evansville, Indiana native then followed with a career-best 15th-place finish in the 400m (52.52) at the NCAA East First Round during the outdoor season. She also scored points at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the 4x400m (fifth place) and 400m (seventh place).
Vessat is entering his first season as a Boilermaker after he spent two years at Edward Waters, a Division II school, where he ran track and played basketball. He will enter the first indoor season of his collegiate career after he missed indoor at Edward Waters for basketball.
The Paris, France native took a big step last season with an 18th-place finish in the 400m at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships. He won the SIAC outdoor 400m title in 46.18, a time that would sit fourth in Purdue outdoor history.
Once he signed with Purdue, Vessat attended the French Championships and ran 45.39 in the 400m that would set a Purdue record. Nicholas Parks holds the Purdue outdoor 400m record in 45.71.
Smith, Vessat and the rest of Purdue’s team will begin the season Jan. 9-10 at the Rod McCravy Memorial in Louisville, Kentucky.
