GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Purdue Track & Field’s Samuel Vessat (400m) and Hugh Jacobsmeyer (800m) set new school records to headline the Boilers’ eight performances in the top 10. Joel Gates and Britannie Johnson each also earned wins in their respective shot put competitions.
Men’s Notes
• Vessat ran 44.94 to shatter Purdue’s previous school record of 45.71 set by Nicholas Parks on May 28, 2016. The Paris, France native because just the third French runner in history to break 45 seconds. The time placed Vessat third at the Tom Jones Memorial in a stacked field.
• Hugh Jacobsmeyer broke Purdue’s 800m record by running 1:47.29, a record that stood since May 14, 1983. Jacobsmeyer now owns the indoor and outdoor 800m records after he went 1:48.37 back in February.
• Seamus Malaski increased his school hammer throw ranking to No. 4 after he threw 67.73m (222-02) to finish fourth in a competitive invite section of the event. He added a seventh-place finish in the discus (54.75m / 179-07).
• Joel Gates won the collegiate section of the shot put with a personal best 18.15m (59-06.75).
• Zyan Greene ran 46.69 in the early section of the 400m and now ranks eighth in school history. He was seventh prior to Vessat’s school record entry later in the day.
• Praise Aniamaka made his return to competition for the first time since 2025 indoor nationals and jumped 16.01m (52-06.50) to finish sixth in the invite section.
• Chidozie Kalu competed in his first outdoor meet as a Boilermaker and took the early section victory in the triple jump (15.61m / 51-02.75).
Women’s Notes
• The 4x400m of Alexia Smith, Taiye Ayenuro, Marissa Palmer and Gia Clay ran the No. 2 time in school history (3:29.57) to conclude the Tom Jones Memorial. With its performance, the 2026 Boilers now have two different 4x400m combinations in the program’s top five.
• Amarianna Lofton cleared 1.83m (6-00.00) to finish tied for first and enter the school record book tied for third. She was in a jump-off with 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships runner-up Rose Yeboah (Illinois) prior to a tie being declared.
• Britannie Johnson earned a pair of personal bests in the shot put (16.34m / 53-07.50) and discus (53.48m / 175-05) to increase her No. 3 and No. 5 marks, respectively. Her shot put earned a victory in the collegiate section.
• Palmer entered Purdue’s 100m rankings at No. 7 after she ran 11.51 in the invite section of the event. Combined with her 4x400m entry to conclude the meet, Palmer now has five spots in Purdue’s rankings through her first month as a Boilermaker.
Next Up
Purdue has a weekend off before concluding the regular season at the Jim Green Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky (May 1-2).
