WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Track & Field prepares for the 2026 Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska from May 15-17. All three days cans be streamed live on B1G+, while Sunday's action will also be available live on Big Ten Network.
Men’s Notes
• In his only 400m so far this outdoor season, Samuel Vessat ran 44.94 and ranks tied for first in the Big Ten and sixth in the country. His time leads European runners in 2026 and is the third-fastest all-time by a French runner. He looks to become the first Purdue men’s 400m runner to win the event at the Big Ten Championships.
• Vessat runs the second leg on a 4x400m team that also features Victory Achakpoekri, Zach Mylenek and Zyan Greene. The group ranks fifth in the country and leads the Big Ten by over a second. Purdue has never won a title outdoors in the 4x400m.
• Praise Aniamaka ranks third in the Big Ten in the triple jump (16.01m / 52-06.50). Prior to redshirting his 2025 outdoor season, Aniamaka won back-to-back Big Ten titles in the event outdoors between 2023-24.
• Chidozie Kalu is coming off a Big Ten Indoor Championships silver medal in the triple jump and ranks seventh in the Big Ten outdoors (15.61m / 51-02.75).
• Elliot Ryba is one of six Big Ten athletes to clear 2.16m (7-01.00) in the high jump this season. Bode Gilkerson is coming off three straight Big Ten Championships where he has finished fourth (twice indoors and once outdoors).
• Seamus Malaski ranks 17th in the country in the hammer throw (67.73m / 222-02) and eight in the Big Ten. He is also 19th in the country in the shot put (19.13m / 62-09.25) and 10th in the Big Ten.
• Nathan Walker leads the distance group with a sixth place standing in the Big Ten in the 10,000m (29:14.15).
Women’s Notes
• The 4x400m team of Alexia Smith, Taiye Ayenuro, Marissa Palmer and Gia Clay ran 3:29.57 on April 18 and ranks second in the Big Ten by 0.24 seconds. Four Big Ten teams are sub-3:30 this season. Purdue won back-to-back titles in the 4x400m from 2018-19 which were the first two victories since 2001.
• Smith ranks sixth in the conference in the 400m (51.89) with the third-fastest time in Purdue history.
• Amarianna Lofton is tied for fifth in the Big Ten in the high jump (1.83m / 6-00.00) and is one of seven total Big Ten athletes to clear 1.83m this season. The clearance is tied for 14th in the country.
• Palmer is one of nine Big Ten athletes to break 23 seconds in the 200m when she ran a 22.98 (+2.4 m/s) in the regular season finale on May 1.
• Purdue’s 4x100m of Nia Wilson, Palmer, Ashley Odiase and Jayla Cooper ran 43.99 in the outdoor opener to rank fourth in the Big Ten. The lineup has since seen a shakeup to feature Ayenuro, Palmer, Wilson and Cooper in that order.
• Britannie Johnson ranks 23rd in the country in the shot put (16.72m / 54-10.25)
Next Up
Boilers holding a regional mark (top 48 in the east region) will participate in the NCAA East First Round from May 28-30 in Lexington, Kentucky.
Men’s Entries
200m: Jordan Moulton
400m: Victory Achakpoekri, Jax Coleman, Zyan Greene, Zach Mylenek, Samuel Vessat
800m: Hugh Jacobsmeyer
1500m: Hugh Jacobsmeyer
5000m: Douglas Buckeridge, Nathan Walker
10,000m: Nathan Walker, Nerius White
110mH: Zion Jackson
3000mSC: Kiefer Bell, Douglas Buckeridge
4x100m: Zion Jackson, Connor Czajkowski, Jordan Moulton, Victory Achakpoekri
4x400m: Victory Achakpoekri, Samuel Vessat, Zach Mylenek, Zyan Greene
High Jump: Bode Gilkerson, Elliot Ryba
Triple Jump: Praise Aniamaka, Chidozie Kalu
Discus: Joel Gates, Seamus Malaski
Hammer Throw: Jack Harmon, Seamus Malaski, Leo Maxwell
Decathlon: Warner Papillion
Women’s Entries
100m: Ashley Odiase, Nia Wilson
200m: Ashley Odiase, Marissa Palmer
400m: Taiye Ayenuro, Gia Clay, Alexia Smith
100mH: Jayla Cooper
4x100m: Taiye Ayenuro, Marissa Palmer, Nia Wilson, Jayla Cooper
4x400m: Alexia Smith, Taiye Ayenuro, Marissa Palmer, Gia Clay
High Jump: Jubilee Felder, Amarianna Lofton
Long Jump: Blessing Gideon, Jila Vaden
Triple Jump: Blessing Gideon
Discus: Britannia Johnson, Britannie Johnson
Hammer Throw: Britannia Johnson
Shot Put: Britannie Johnson
Heptathlon: Angeline Amefia
