Purdue Sports Update: March 7
WBB STORMS BACK FOR FIRST ROUND WIN
Coming out of a timeout down 10 midway through the third quarter, the women’s basketball team outscored Northwestern by 16 points over the final 15 minutes of action to pull off a 78-72 win over the Wildcats in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night at the Target Center.
It was Purdue’s first win this season when trailing at the break, as well as facing a deficit of 10 points or more.
Abbey Ellis was electric in her first career double-double. The fifth-year senior dropped 25 points on 7-of-18 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. Ellis added 10 rebounds, marking Purdue’s first double-double in the tournament since 2020. The Australian international’s 25 points were most by a Boilermaker since Dominique Oden scored 20 against Nebraska in 2019.
Ellis finished 9-of-10 at the line, tying for fifth in Purdue’s single-tournament game history.
Rashunda Jones gave Purdue a much-needed spark off the bench with 19 points in her first tournament game. It was the highest point tally by a Purdue freshman since Oden had 20 against Ohio State in 2017.
Jeanae Terry filled up the stat sheet with a typical line of eight points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and three steals. The fifth-year senior tied Stacey Lovelace’s record for most rebounds in a tournament game by a Boilermaker, while sliding into 10th on the Big Ten’s all-time chart.
Down four at the break, Purdue (13-17) outscored Northwestern (9-21) by 10 over the final 20 minutes. The Boilermakers overcame a 35.9% shooting clip by going 26-of-32 at the charity stripe, matching the Purdue single-game tournament record set in 2003 against Iowa.
The Boilermakers opened strong in the first quarter hitting six of their first eight shots to build a 14-9 lead midway through the frame. Northwestern closed the first on an 11-4 run with 10 points in the paint to hold a 20-18 lead after the first.
Purdue started the second on an 8-2 run to open up a 26-22 lead, before Northwestern rolled back to close the half up 39-35. The Boilermakers forced 10 first half turnovers, but Northwestern shot an even 50% from the field.
The Wildcats added to gap early in the third with a 10-2 run, forcing Katie Gearlds timeout with 4:55 to play. From that point, it was all Boilermakers. Ellis and Jones scored the next 15 points for Purdue to close out the third down 55-52.
The duo combined for 19 of Purdue’s 26 points in the fourth. Purdue went 5-of-12 from the field and 15-of-18 at the line. Layden drilled a long-range 3-pointer with 8:58 left in the game to put Purdue ahead for good. The Boilermakers managed just three made field goals in the final eight minutes of action, but all three were momentum builders.
Ellis rolled through a contested layup with 5:45 to go, before Jones converted back-to-back traditional 3-point plays with under four minutes to play. Purdue’s defense forced four turnovers in the final frame.
The Boilermakers finished the final 15 minutes of the game making 10 of their final 21 shots.
The Boilermakers will have a tight turnaround before facing No. 5 Nebraska on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
STEVENSON NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
For the first time in 20 years, a Boilermaker has been named a Big Ten Freshman of the Year. After an impressive first campaign in West Lafayette, Mary Ashley Stevenson was tabbed the top freshman in the Big Ten by the league’s media.
Stevenson is Purdue’s fourth Freshman of the Year and first since head coach Katie Gearlds garnered the award after her first season at Purdue in 2003-04.
She also earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman teams from the coaches and media, as well as an honorable mention all-conference nod by the media.
The New York City native averaged 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game with a 43.1% shooting clip. Stevenson finished third among Big Ten freshmen in scoring and second in rebounding. Her 82.4% mark at the charity stripe led the league’s freshmen and was fourth nationally among rookies averaging two made free throws per game.
In Big Ten action, Stevenson tallied 10.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per night. Her shooting clip jumped up to 43.4%, while she went 43-of-47 at the line for 91.5%. She finished second in freshman rebounding in league games and second in scoring.
Stevenson has worn a protective face mask for the last nine games after breaking her nose against Ohio State. She has averaged 10.7 points while shooting 51.4% from the field and 95.5% at the line in those games.
She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice and earned the first USBWA National Freshman of the Week honor in Purdue history.
Stevenson finished in double figures 14 times, 12th most by a Purdue freshman in the last 30 years. She joined Shereka Wright and Katie Douglas as the only Boilermaker freshmen to record 275 points and 140 rebounds.
Nebraska’s Natalie Potts was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after a tight vote by the coaches.
Jeanae Terry picked up her third postseason honor as a Boilermaker, earning honorable mention all-conference status from the coaches and media.
Terry finished another all-around campaign with 5.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. She ranked second in the Big Ten in assists and fifth in rebounding. After becoming the second player in league history to reach 900 rebounds, 700 assists and 200 steals, Terry joined Iowa’s Caitlin Clark as the only players in the nation to average over seven rebounds, six assists and one steal per game.
Harper also received honorable mention laurels from the media and coaches following a season with 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game behind a 55% shooting clip. Harper was one of five posts from the Big Ten to average over 10 points and shoot 55% or better this season.
She set her Purdue career high with 29 points against Penn State on senior night before her season was cut short due to injury. Harper etched her name in sixth in career field goal percentage.
Harper was named Purdue’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Rashunda Jones landed a spot on the media’s Big Ten All-Freshman team. Jones was fourth in the league freshman scoring at 7.7 points per game. Her 1.7 assists per game ranked third among the conference’s rookies, while finishing third in usage rate at 28%.
BASEBALL SPLITS FOUR OVER PAST WEEK
Hits were tough to come by against a preseason All-American as Purdue was kept off the scoreboard until Logan Sutter’s home run in the ninth inning in a 7-1 loss to No. 11 East Carolina on Friday at the Keith LeClair Classic.
A projected Day 1 selection in the 2024 MLB Draft, Trey Yesavage limited the Boilermakers (6-3) to just two hits while striking out 11 over eight scoreless innings. Purdue had two on with one out in the first inning but was unable to capitalize. Yesavage (2-0) went on to retire 10 in a row and 15 of the next 16 batters he faced.
Jordan Morales pitched deep into the game for the second Friday in a row. He was efficient with his pitches throughout his seven-plus innings, throwing 84 on the day. The lefthander retired the first seven batters he faced and registered a trio of 1-2-3 innings total.
Luke Wagner and Jackson Dannelley teamed up for a two-hitter on the mound as Purdue Baseball won in shutout fashion for the second time in 10 games, defeating Southeastern Louisiana 5-0 on Saturday at ECU’s Keith LeClair Classic.
The Boilermakers (7-3) ended SELA’s five-game win streak, shutting out a team that had scored 59 runs over the last five games. Purdue has two shutout wins in its first 10 games of a season for the first time since 2003.
Wagner pitched into the seventh inning, striking out five while extending his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 10. Dannelley induced an inning-ending double play to erase an inherited runner and worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning vs. the 2-3-4 portion of the Lions’ lineup. He has surrendered just one hit over 9 2/3 scoreless innings this season, recording three saves of at least nine outs in the process.
Purdue retired the leadoff man with one pitch in the second, third, fifth and ninth innings Saturday. Those quick outs helped Wagner (2-0) and Dannelley team up for the combined shutout with just 114 pitches. Wagner worked four 1-2-3 innings. The lefty retired 17 of 18 batters faced to set the stage for the shutout. Southern Louisiana (7-4) only had five base runners, just one reaching second base.
With the first 11 batters of the game reaching base safely, Purdue Baseball erupted for a 10-run inning for the second Sunday in a row and the extended rally powered the Boilermakers to an 11-3 victory vs. Cal State Fullerton on the final day of ECU’s Keith LeClair Classic.
The Boilermakers (8-3) posted a double-figure run total for the third Sunday in a row, clinching another victorious weekend in the process. They’ve scored 35 runs on Sundays this season. The 2012 Big Ten championship team was Purdue’s last to score 10-plus runs in a victory in each of the first three weekends of a season.
The Boilermakers scored 10 or more runs in an inning for the fourth time since April 2022 after going eight consecutive seasons without such an inning from 2014 to 2021. Three of those four big innings have come in the state of North Carolina, where Purdue is now 23-6 since 2019.
Notre Dame scored the game’s final eight runs to blow open a one-run affair through five innings, defeating Purdue Baseball 11-2 in the midweek opener for both teams Tuesday.
Connor Caskenette’s two-run single on a full-count pitch in the fifth inning put the Boilermakers (8-4) on the board and cut UND’s lead to 3-2. The base hit plated Ty Gill and Mike Bolton Jr. as RBI numbers 16 and 17 for the Purdue catcher.
The key sequence of the game came in the bottom of the sixth as the Irish (9-2) scored four times with two outs. With runners on second and third, Brady Gumpf connected for an opposite-field double to right. Estevan Moreno followed with a two-run homer to center field, his second long ball of the day.
Moreno led off the eighth inning with his third home run of the day, hitting one to all fields from the 8-hole in the lineup. Connor Hincks also had a big day in the 3-hole, finishing a home run shy of the cycle and scoring all three times he was aboard.
Purdue open its 30-game home schedule this weekend with Friday’s 4 p.m. home opener vs. UAlbany. The four-game set vs. the Great Danes marks the beginning of a 13-game homestand. March 8 also represents the earliest home opener in program history.
PURDUE GIVEN BIG TEN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDS
On Monday night during their weekly B1G Wrestling & Beyond show, the Big Ten Conference revealed the pre-seeds for the upcoming 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships in College Park, Md. The projected seeds put Matt Ramos in the top spot in the 125 pound weight class and gave four more Boilers spots inside the top-10.
Ramos, who also holds the unanimous No. 1 spot across all of the national polls, becomes the first Boilermaker to enter the Big Ten tournament as the top seed in his weight class since Colton Salazar in 2010 at 157 pounds. He is also just the fourth to earn that No. 1 seed since 1965. This tournament is his chance to become the program’s first Big Ten Champion since Ryan Lange in 2004 and the 41st all-time.
Head coach Tony Ersland saw four more of his wrestlers secure top-10 spots in Stoney Buell (No. 7 at 165), Joey Blaze (No. 8 at 157), Ben Vanadia (No. 9 at 197) and Brody Baumann (No. 10 at 174). They represent career-high seeds for both Buell and Vanadia in their second career tournaments. Blaze’s spot is the highest for a Purdue true freshman since the 2017 tournament when Christian Brunner checked in a No. 8 at 197.
The next-highest seeded Boilermakers are Dustin Norris and Marcos Polanco, who check-in at No. 11 at 133 and 165 respectively. True freshman Greyson Clark is slated to return from injury and will take a No. 12 seed along with James Rowley. Despite only wrestling one match at heavyweight in his career (his most recent one), redshirt-sophomore Hayden Filipovich will step up and represent the old gold and black as the No. 14 seed at 285 on the big stage this weekend.
Official brackets will be released closer to the start of the tournament. The action begins on Saturday, March 9 at 10:00 a.m. ET on BTN.
SOFTBALL WINS PAIR IN WEST VIRGINIA
Despite the Boilermakers’ 4-1 lead to start the game, softball fell 4-7 at Marshall to open the Thundering Herd Invitational. With the result, Purdue moves to 7-6 record while Marshall moves to 9-7.
The Boilermakers scored their runs early, posting two each in the first and third innings, before six runners were left stranded over its remaining frames. The comeback effort included loading the bases in the fifth inning, and leaving two in scoring position in the sixth. Meanwhile, Purdue’s two runs were the most scored in the first inning this season.
Three Boilermakers recorded two hits: Moriah Polar, Tyrina Jones and Sage Scarmardo, which included a double by Jones. Catcher Hailey Hayes led the team with two RBI.
Purdue was out-hit 7-11 in the game and committed two errors, both of which led to runs.
Six runs over the final two innings led Purdue (8-6) to a 9-4 victory over Radford (7-7) to close Day One of the Thundering Herd Invitational. Six of Purdue’s nine total runs came with two outs.
Entering the sixth inning tied 3-3, a trio of doubles by the Boilermakers accounted for all five of the team’s runs in the sixth, giving Purdue the go-ahead and eventual victory.
In her first start of the season, Alivia Meeks recorded a team-leading three hits on four at-bats, one run and an RBI. Meanwhile, Sage Scarmardo totaled two hits in four at-bats, accounting for two Purdue runs and a triple.
Receiving the win was relief pitcher Kendall Klochack (4-0). Starter Olivia Cainey registered a career-high four strikeouts over the first four innings.
The Purdue Boilermakers (8-8) fell in a doubleheader to Butler, 5-6, in 10 innings and Radford, 5-6, on Day 2 of the Thundering Herd Invitational.
On the day, the Boilermakers totaled four doubles (three vs. Butler and one vs. Radford). Additionally, the team added a triple vs. Butler and a home run vs. Radford.
Khloe Banks led the team in both games totaling two runs in each. Versus Radford she registered two hits, including a two RBI homer to right field, which put Purdue within one of the Highlanders in the third inning. Her home run was the second of her career and first of the season.The sophomore’s second run came on a wild pitch, which she dove to beat the tag out at home.
Junior Madi Elish (0-3) received the loss vs. Butler after tossing the final 1.1 innings in which Butler earned the walk-off. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Emma Bailey (0-2) started in the circle vs. Radford and pitched the first two innings.
Eleven Boilermakers were left stranded vs. Radford compared to the opponents’ five. Against Butler, the Boilermaker eight runners were left on-base to Butler’s seven.
The softball squad came back with a vengeance for the final day of the Thundering Herd Invitational, taking down host Marshall, 10-3. The victory marked the second of the weekend and ninth overall for head coach Magali Frezzotti and the Boilermakers (9-8).
Purdue nearly had its first run-rule victory after taking a 9-1 lead in the sixth inning, but two Marshall runs in the bottom of the frame staved off the mercy rule.
The Boilermakers produced one of their most balanced outings, with runs in five of the seven innings. Moreover, Purdue’s 11 hits marked the fourth double-digit effort of the season, including the second of the weekend. Two doubles by Alivia Meeks and Moriah Polar were recorded in the outing.
Meeks, who made her first start of the season on Friday, ended the weekend with nine hits, including four doubles and two RBI to pace the team.
Junior Madi Elish earned her first win of the season (1-3) with the complete-game victory, allowing two hits over the first three innings. She allowed four walks and fed the infield 12 times.
Khloe Banks and Sage Scarmardo led the day with three runs each, tying the Purdue season-high. Meanwhile, Meek registered a .471 batting average to lead the team.
Aggressive offense by the Boilermakers to open the game included two stolen bases in the first two innings, a double and two runs. On the day, Purdue left 10 runners stranded and hit .378 (11-29) from the plate.
The Boilermakers will be back next week in Fort Myers, Florida for the FGCU Spring Break Classic from March 8-10. Purdue will take on Florida State, Pittsburgh and Western Michigan.
MEN’S TENNIS SWEEPS WEEKEND
Purdue avenged a 2023 loss with a 5-2 victory over DePaul on Friday night.
After a recent dip in doubles, the Boilermakers got their mojo back with wins at No. 1 and 2. With DePaul taking the first match at No. 3, Daniel Labrador/Stefan Simeunovic kept the point alive with a 7-5 win with one match to decide the point. Soham Purohit/Juan David Velasquez answered the call with a 6-4 win to clinch the early lead for Purdue.
With a 1-0 advantage, the Boilers put the pedal to the metal and easily clinched the dual by cruising to a 5-0 start.
The bottom of the order saw the most success as Mujtaba Ali-Khan, Velasquez and Alexander Ekstrand won in straight sets. Ali-Khan is now 4-4 at No. 6 winning two in a row. Ekstrand continues to rack up wins at No. 5 as he improved to 3-1 at the position.
With the win in tow, Purohit closed out the singles scoring with a straight-set win at No. 2, making him 2-0 in the Top 3 positions. Purohit has won three in a row and four of his last five matches.
Purdue swept the weekend after toppling Cleveland State 5-2 on Saturday.
The Boilermakers took the doubles point for the second consecutive match with wins at No. 1 and 2. Daniel Labrador/Stefan Simeunovic decided the point in a 7-6(3) tiebreak that secured the lead.
Underclassmen continue to pave the way for victories as Soham Purohit, Juan David Velasquez, Alexander Ekstrand and Mujtaba Ali-Khan all went unbeaten in the two team wins.
After going down in the first set 3-6, Velasquez proceeded to put on a textbook example of resiliency and fight all the way through the match. The freshman won the second set 7-6(8) and proceeded to win the match 6-4 after being down 0-3 to start the final set.
Purohit and Ekstrand are also thriving in their respective positions. With a pair of straight-set victories, Purhoit moves to 3-0 in the top three positions. Ekstrand is 4-1 at No. 5.
Ali-Khan has settled into his sophomore season with a 5-4 record at singles No. 6, giving Purdue its fifth and final point of the victory.
WOMEN’S TENNIS WINS BIG TEN OPENER
The Purdue women’s tennis team defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-3 to claim the first Big Ten win of the season.
Doubles play started strong for the Boilermakers with Carmen Gallardo Guevara/Tara Katarina Milic’s 6-2 win at No. 1 over the Scarlet Knights’ Yana Gurevich/Tara Chilton. At No. 2, Ashlie Wilson/Kennedy Gibbs were defeated by Minchae Kim/Mai Nguyen, clenching the doubles point for Rutgers.
With the score 0-3, sophomore Ashlie Wilson claimed the first singles win for Purdue by defeating Mai Nguyen 7-6(3), 6-4 at No. 6. At No. 4, Tara Katarina Milic beat Rutgers’ Amira Badawi after a tiebreak in the second set.
Junior Carmen Gallardo Guevara remains undefeated in singles play with a record of 9-0. At No. 1, Gallardo Guevara earned a victory in two straight sets over Tara Chilton. Similarly to Milic, Gallardo Guevara also ended the second set in a tiebreak, winning 8-6. Juana Larranaga clinched the win for Purdue with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jackeline Lopez.
The Boilermakers will be back at home on Saturday, Mar. 9 at noon to battle the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
RZEPKA WINS SILVER ON PLATFORM, BURAU BREAKS 200 BACK RECORD
Jordan Rzepka won silver on platform to medal in the dive well for the second day in a row and fourth time in his career, and Dylan Burau became the first Boilermaker to break a program record this season, highlighting the final day of the Big Ten Championships for Purdue men’s swimming & diving.
Rzepka led the way as the Boilermakers had four championship final qualifiers in the final session of the four-day showcase. Rzepka finished top four in all three diving events this week, medaling on both 3-meter (bronze) and platform (silver) in the same year for the second time in his career. The junior now has six career top-five finishes and is 9-for-9 in career top-10 showings at Big Tens.
Rzepka accounted for a Purdue-best 81 team points this week, the most by a Boilermaker since Steele Johnson (85) was the Big Ten champion on platform and finished top four in all three events in 2017. Similar to classmate Sophie McAfee on the women’s side, Rzepka has reached the 200-point mark (228) at Big Tens in just three years.
Burau eclipsed Joe Young’s team record (1:41.93) in the 200 backstroke that had stood since the 2019 Big Ten Championships. The sophomore bested the benchmark by 0.4 tenths of a second with a time of 1:41.53 in the prelims, qualifying for his first career A final at Big Tens.
Brady Samuels finished fifth in the A final of the 100 freestyle, posting his fourth career top-5 showing at Big Tens. He won his prelim heat in 42.46 to earn the No. 2 seed in the A final. Samuels finished top 10 in all three of his individual events this week, scoring in all three of his races for the third consecutive year.
Senior Coleman Modglin closed out his career at Big Tens by racing in his first A final, qualifying in the 200 breaststroke. He was a four-year scorer at Big Tens, scoring in both breaststroke events all four seasons.
Seniors Ethan Shaw and Charlie King enjoyed some memorable moments in the 200 butterfly. Shaw moved into third place in team history with a prelim time of 1:45.05 to qualify for the B final. In his return home to the Columbus area this week, Shaw posted lifetime bests in the 200 free (1:35.62, 5th), 500 free (4:19.62, 2nd) and 200 fly – moving into the top five in team history in all three events. He also scored in all three of his individual events for the second year in a row.
King won the C final of the 200 fly in 1:45.31, essentially matching his lifetime best from a month ago at the Senior Day meet. Their classmate Griffin Seaver competed in both the 200 fly and 1650 free Saturday, logging over 2,000 yards of live racing action while scoring in both events. Seaver’s lifetime best of 1:46.92 in the 200 fly earned him a spot on the program’s all-time leaderboard in the event.
Freshman Pat Broderick moved into seventh place in team history in the mile, posting Purdue’s best time (15:16.70) in the event since the 2018 Big Ten Championships. Aaron Frollo closed out his career at Big Tens with a lifetime best of 15:24.13 in the mile, moving up to 12th place on the Boilermakers’ all-time leaderboard. They finished among the top-16 as B final-equivalent showings.
Maxwell Blume (1:56.93, 8th place in team history), Andrew Witty (1:57.40, 11th) and Raymond Whittaker (1:58.20, 14th) all moved up Purdue’s all-time leaderboard in the 200 breast with their lifetime bests. Witty and Whittaker were both faster in the evening while scoring in the C final.
Holden Higbie was the runner-up in the consolation final of platform diving. He also won the 1-meter consol Thursday while scoring in all three diving events as a freshman.
Rzepka had the lead on the tower midway through the championship final, but his missed dive in round 4 opened the door for Carson Tyler to surge to the top of the leaderboard. Rzepka earned scores of 78-plus on four of his six dives for a list total of 433.65. He was recognized as second-team All-Big Ten again as a silver medalist.
The Boilermakers closed out the meet with a time of 2:53.18 in the 400 free relay. Connor McCarthy, Samuels, Idris Muhammad and Nathaniel Thomas posted the fifth-fastest time in team history and McCarthy’s lifetime best of 43.56 on the leadoff leg elevated the junior into 12th place in the 100 free.
Selected swimmers will compete in Sunday’s long course time trials in Columbus, chasing Olympic Trials qualifying times in the process. Purdue may choose to enter selected swimmers into an NCAA last chance meet next weekend (March 9-10) at Indiana. Championship season continues with the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships (March 14-16 at Louisville), CSCAA National Invitational Championships (March 14-16 in Ocala, Fla.) and NCAA Championships (March 27-30 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis).
WOMEN’S GOLF MOVES UP LEADERBOARD, FINISHES 4TH IN THE SHOW
Entering the final round of The Show in sixth place, Purdue Women’s Golf fired a 2-over 290 to move up the leaderboard and finish tied for fourth alongside No. 23 Pepperdine at 12-over.
The Boilermakers made a combined 21 birdies during the final round, averaging more than four per golfer and nearly doubling their total for the entire tournament. Purdue’s 46 birdies over three rounds ranked second in the field.
Ashley Kozlowski led the Boilermakers, tying for seventh for her second Top 10 finish of the season. The senior made 13 birdies throughout the tournament, ranking second in the 77-player field and ending the tournament 2-under par following a final round 71 (-1). Kozlowski dominated the par 4s, playing those holes 4-under to lead the field. Her final round featured five birdies, including four of the 10 par 4s.
Momo Sugiyama added another Top 20 to her Purdue resume, ending The Show 1-over par to tie for 13th. She made four birdies throughout the final round, playing the last 10 holes 3-under. Sugiyama earned her fifth Top 20 performance of the 2023-24 season, and she cracked the Top 20 for the third straight tournament.
Jocelyn Bruch and Jade Gu contributed to the team’s final round tally with rounds of 73 (+1) and 74 (+2), respectively. Bruch played her last eight holes bogey free, making one birdie along the way to post her best round of the tournament. Gu’s round featured three straight birdies to begin the front nine, going 4-under through a seven-hole stretch.
Up next, Purdue will compete in the Briar’s Creek Invitational on the coast of South Carolina (March 11-12). Closing out a busy month, the Boilermakers will return to The Bruzzy Challenge at Dornick Hills Country Club in Oklahoma (March 30-31).
CHARLTON BREAKS WORLD RECORD AGAIN TO WIN WORLD INDOORS
Purdue track & field alumna Devynne Charlton broke her own world record in the 60-meter hurdles to win gold as three Boilermaker alumns competed at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships from March 1-3 in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Along with Charlton’s world-record-winning run at the three-day event at Commonwealth Arena, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi was sixth in the shot put and Brian Faust was 14th in the 400m.
Three weeks after she broke a 16-year-old world record in the 60m hurdles, Charlton broke her own record in the final on Sunday, March 3 with a time of 7.65 seconds. She eclipsed her old mark of 7.67, set at the Millrose Games on February 11, and the previous record of 7.68, set by Sweden’s Susanna Kallur in 2008.
A native of The Bahamas and a Boilermaker from 2014-18, Charlton won gold by 0.09 seconds and secured a medal by 0.16 seconds. Her finish in the final came after she registered the top time in the semifinal, with a 7.72, just 80 minutes earlier in the day. In the heats on Saturday, Charlton finished with the top time in the third heat and the seventh-fastest time overall, in 7.93, to pick up one of three automatic qualifying spots in the heat.
On Friday, March 1, Enekwechi was sixth in the shot put with a mark of 21.60 meters. His best mark came on his fourth attempt, as he was sixth by 0.49 meters. All four of his legal attempts passed the seventh-place finisher’s best mark of 21.11m.
Enekwechi’s performance comes after he had a season-best of 21.63m on February 20, which broke the African record. That came at the Hvezdy v. Nehvizdech competition in the Czech Republic and topped the previous African indoor mark was 21.47m, set in 2001. From Nigeria, Enekwechi was a Boilermaker from 2013-16 and also recently spent several years as a volunteer assistant with the team.
Faust got the weekend started for the Purdue alums in the 400m. In the heats, he finished in 47.11 and placed 14th overall. He was just three spots, and 0.07 seconds, away from qualifying for the semifinals at his first career World Indoor Championships.
His showing on the international stage comes after Faust won the 400m at the 2024 USATF Indoor Championships on February 17. The Boilermaker from 2018-21 ran a personal-best 45.47 to win the national title by 0.01 seconds. The Atlanta native was donning the Team USA uniform for the first time.
