WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Track & Field returns from its first off weekend of the outdoor season at the Spec Towns Invitational, hosted by Georgia, April 9-11.
Men’s Notes
• Samuel Vessat prepares for his first outdoor 400m as a Boilermaker after he finished sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He also aims for his first 4x400m relay leg outdoors after he guided Purdue to a silver medal at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
• Victory Achakpoekri ranks 19th in the country in the 400m after he ran 45.88 at the UCF Knights Invite, the No. 2 time in Purdue history.
• Seamus Malaski returns to action after he recorded the No. 21 shot put nationally (18.51m / 60-08.75) and No. 10 discus in school history (54.97m / 180-04) in his outdoor collegiate debut.
• Warner Papillion gears up for his first collegiate decathlon Thursday-Friday this week. He concluded his first indoor season with the No. 8 heptathlon point total in school history (5,161).
• Joel Gates is coming off his first victory as a Boilermaker after he threw a personal best 54.35m (178-04) in the discus at the UCF Knights Invite.
Women’s Notes
• The 4x100m relay of Nia Wilson, Marissa Palmer, Ashley Odiase and Jayla Cooper ranks 17th in the country after running 43.99 in the season-opener. The time was No. 5 in school history.
• Palmer has started her Purdue career strong individually with the No. 7 time in the 200m (23.55) in school history.
• Odiase ran 11.55 in her first 100m as a Boilermaker at the USF Alumni Invitational, tied for ninth in school history. She also ran a wind-aided 23.43 (+2.7 m/s) in the 200m that sits tied for 34th in the NCAA East Region.
• Britannie Johnson has built off her strong indoor campaign by opening the season with the No. 36 discus (53.95m / 174-00) and No. 47 shot put (15.59m / 51-01.75) marks nationally.
• Britannia Johnson trails closely behind her sister in the discus with the No. 40 mark in the country (52.85m / 173-04).
• Alexia Smith looks towards her first 400m of the outdoor season after she entered the season fifth in school history (52.40).
Next Up
Purdue has a split squad week for the final time this season April 16-18 when the program travels to the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida.
