WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Track & Field had two athletes from the men’s program, Seamus Malaski (weight throw) and Samuel Vessat (400m), qualify for the 2026 Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas (March 13-14).
The top 16 individuals in each event ranking and the top 12 relays qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Vessat enters the NCAA Championships as the eighth-ranked 400m runner after he ran 45.38 in the Big Ten Championships prelims. The time set a new French short track record and is the No. 9 all-time short track performance by a European runner. It also set a school record and broke the Fall Creek Pavilion facility record.
He finished fifth in the 400m finals and guided Purdue to a silver medal in the 4x400m after he split 45.33 to lead the team to a 3:04.97, just 0.02 seconds shy of the school record.
Vessat is on his way to the fourth indoor All-American 400m campaign in Purdue history. He would join Brian Faust (2020-21) and Al Washington (1965). He qualifies for the NCAA Championships in his first indoor season after he played two seasons of basketball at Division II Edward Waters prior to transferring to Purdue over the summer.
Malaski holds the No. 14 spot nationally in the weight throw heading into the NCAA Championships. His 22.52m (73-10.75) at the Big Ten Indoor Championships earned him bronze and solidified his spot at nationals. He is the only freshman to qualify for nationals in the weight throw.
His impressive freshman campaign featured his bronze medal in the weight throw and fifth-place finish in the shot put to earn Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors. He ranks No. 2 in the weight throw and No. 4 in the shot put in school history.
Malaski prepares to collect the 10th All-American honor by a Boilermaker in the weight throw. Johnny Vanos (2023), Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (2013-16), Jonathan Pullum (2008), Scott Hecht (2004), Keith McBride (2004) and Chris Brown (2000) are Purdue’s All-Americans in the event.
Malaski narrowly missed also qualifying for the shot put by just two places and 0.19m. Only six athletes nationally rank in the top 50 in both the shot put and weight throw.
After nationals concludes, Purdue gears up for the outdoor season starting March 20-21 at the USF Alumni Invitational in Tampa, Florida.
