WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Track & Field is set to open the 2026 outdoor schedule at the USF Alumni Invitational in Tampa, Florida from March 20-21.
Men’s Notes
• Praise Aniamaka returns to Purdue for one final season in the triple jump. He is a four-time All-American and three-time B1G Champion in the event. He has finished in the top nine nationally in all his NCAA appearances, including a sixth-place finish at the 2024 outdoor championships.
• Samuel Vessat is coming off a historic indoor season in the 400m after finishing sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn First Team All-American honors. He set new French national and Purdue indoor records (45-30) and helped lead Purdue to a B1G silver medal in the 4x400m. Last outdoor season he was an NCAA Division II 400m qualifier while at Edward Waters and finished 18th.
• Seamus Malaski is coming off a Second Team All-American indoor campaign in the weight throw. He was the only first-year competitor to qualify for the event and one of two underclassmen. The redshirt freshman gears up for his first collegiate outdoor season and is scheduled to compete in the discus, hammer throw and shot put in Tampa.
• Bode Gilkerson was a Second Team All-American in the outdoor high jump last season after he finished 13th (2.15m / 7-00.50). He has fourth-place finishes in three consecutive Big Ten Championships (twice indoors and once outdoors) across the last two seasons.
• Zyan Greene gears up for his first outdoor season at Purdue after he was a four-time NJCAA All-American at Coffeyville CC. Greene had a strong indoor campaign running 46.58 to rank third in school history and took silver in the 4x400m at the Big Ten Championships.
• Three-time All-American Connor Czajkowski (4x100m, 4x400m) and one-time All-American Chidozie Kalu (triple jump) are set for the outdoor season. Kalu is coming off a silver medal at the 2026 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
• Purdue is set to add Victory Achakpoekri, a Southland Conference bronze medalist last season, to the strong Boilermaker 400m group.
• Purdue also brings back five additional regional qualifiers from last season: Kiefer Bell (3000m steeplechase), Douglas Buckeridge (3000m steeplechase, 10,000m), Joel Gates (discus – with Tennessee), Leo Maxwell (hammer throw) and Zach Mylenek (4x400m).
Women’s Notes
• Alexia Smith leads the way for the women’s side after she finished 15th at the NCAA East First Round last season in the 400m (52.52). She has qualified for the 400m in each of her first two seasons and, combined with indoor, has three top seven finishes at Big Ten Championships.
• Purdue had a big addition through the transfer portal in sophomore Marissa Palmer from Georgia State. Running last season under Richardo Page, who is Purdue’s current throws coach after a stint as Georgia State’s head coach last season, Palmer finished 17th in the 200m and 27th in the 100m in the NCAA East First Round as a true freshman. Her 23.09 in the 200m and 11.38 in the 100m would rank second and third in school history, respectively.
• Ashley Odiase is coming off a record-setting indoor campaign when she set a new Purdue standard in the 200m (23.34). Her performance, in the B1G 200m finals, earned her fifth place. She was a two-event qualifier at the NCAA West First Round (200m, 4x100m) last season as a true freshman at Cal State Fullerton.
• Britannie Johnson looks to carry momentum from her indoor season to outdoor after she finished just one spot shy of the NCAA Indoor Championships in the weight throw. She holds the No. 5 discus and No. 7 shot put marks in school history.
• After injuries caused a late start to her indoor campaign, Britannia Johnson is set for the outdoor season. She was an NCAA East First Round qualifier in the discus last season and holds the No. 3 mark in school history.
• Nia Wilson looks to join Odiase and Palmer on the 4x100m and she is a two-time B1G scorer in the event. She holds the No. 8 time in the 100m (11.53) in school history.
• Two-time All-American high jumper Amarianna Lofton is set for her first campaign with Purdue after she redshirted the indoor season. She finished fourth, her highest NCAAs finish, at the 2025 Division II Championships.
• Angeline Amefia and Gia Clay were both part of Purdue’s NCAA East First Round 4x400m that finished 18th last season.
• Lauren Pegher leads the distance side and is coming off an indoor campaign that featured the No. 3 3000m and No. 5 5000m in school history.
Next Up
Purdue splits the program up between the Raleigh Relays (March 26-28) in Raleigh, North Carolina and the UCF Knights Invite (March 27-28) in Orlando, Florida.
