WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue track & field sophomore Jayla Ellis will compete at the Illini B1G Multi-Meet on Saturday, Jan. 30 in Champaign, Illinois.
Ellis will make her season debut in the pentathlon, which begins with the 60-meter hurdles at 10 a.m. ET. The meet continues with the high jump, shot put, long jump and the 800-meter at the University of Illinois Armory.
Ellis is joined in the pentathlon field by 15 other student-athletes from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
“Jayla is continuing to regain fitness after the long December layoff, which is the reason we have only one competitor,” Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. “She’s had a good start to the season, and I think she’ll do well again on Saturday in her first pentathlon appearance of the season.
Ellis has raced in the 60-meter hurdles in both of Purdue’s two meets to open the indoor campaign. On Jan. 16 at Michigan, she notched the 10th-fastest 60- hurdles time in school history with a mark of 8.52 seconds to place fourth overall. The following week, on Jan. 23 at Indiana, she was the runner-up in the event with a time of 8.55. Ellis’ 8.52-second finish on Jan. 16 is the third-fastest time in the Great Lakes Region this season.
Ellis competed in the pentathlon three times as a freshman in 2020. Her top mark of 3,639 points on Jan. 10 ranks No. 7 in school history.
Top-25 Boilermakers
Three Boilermakers have posted marks that rank in the top-25 in the NCAA this season. Senior Curt Eckstein is No. 3 in the nation in the 3,000 after his school-record time of 7:59.30 on Jan. 16. Junior Alexis Zatta is No. 11 in the high jump, with a meet-winning mark of 1.78 to open the year. Senior Jalil Brewer checks in at No. 15 nationally in the shot put thanks to a throw of 18.56 meters to place second overall at the Simmons-Harvey Invite. Additionally, 12 Purdue student-athletes have marks that rank in the top-10 in the Great Lakes Region in 2020-21.
Last Time Out: Gladstein Invitational
Zatta won the high jump and sophomore Johnny Vanos took home the weight throw title as both earned their second victories in as many weeks for Purdue at the Gladstein Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 23. The Boilermakers added four second-place finishes, four third-place finishes and three personal-record marks.
Up Next: Hoosier Hills Invitational
The Boilermakers make their second trip to Bloomington, Indiana, next weekend for the Hoosier Hills Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 6.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
More Than A Game
The More Than A Game campaign was launched in August, in partnership with the John Purdue Club, to help the athletics department navigate the financial ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic and position Boilermaker athletics for future success. Boilermakers and friends can make a contribution to the More Than A Game campaign by contacting their Boilermaker Athletics Representative or by visiting JPCMoreThanAGame.com. Fans can purchase a special More Than A Game t-shirt from Legends and the Purdue Team Store, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the More Than A Game campaign. To purchase the t-shirt, click here or go to PurdueTeamStore.com.
Purdue Athletics is one of only a handful of Division I athletics departments that is entirely self-sustaining: it does not receive any taxpayer dollars, general fund support from Purdue University, or student fees. John Purdue Club memberships are directed to funding the $12 million scholarship cost for student-athletes and this separate fund will help offset Purdue Athletics’ 2020-21 budget shortfall.
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