Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/515571
GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 28 • 23 BY TRAVIS BAUGH M att McClintock was due for a Big Ten title. After placing in the top eight at the Big Ten Championships three times as a freshman and sophomore and a second-place finish in Saturday's 10K, the junior was hungry for his first gold medal. He did just that in the 5K Sunday, giving Purdue one of its four individual champions at the conference meet. "It was nice to finally get that monkey off of my back," McClintock said. "Since my freshman year, I've been looking for a Big Ten title since I was rookie of the year in cross country. I've been looking for one, and they've been just out of reach for the last couple years. To finally grab one, it feels like a lot of weight and stress is off my shoulders." McClintock made an impressive move with just over seven laps to go and there was no looking back as he opened up a 15-second lead to cruise to the title. "We were running so slow at that point," McClintock said. "I decided to go and try and lead the race and take the kick out of the other runners' legs and they ended up giving me a massive lead. I was able to hold on. "I was more shocked than anything when I was able to look back a couple laps into the move and see they had given me 60, 70 meters. I was shocked nobody decided to go with me. I guess they just thought I wasn't going to be able to hold the pace I was running." The 5K title marked a significant milestone for not just McClintock but Purdue's track program. Before McClintock's win, Purdue had never won a 5K at the Big Ten Championships or had a distance champion in the meet at all since 2001. "I hope it's able to help us with recruiting and inspire some of the other guys and hopefully lead to a good cross country season next year," McClintock said. The men's track team struggled in all of the running events McClintock didn't participate in, with no other individuals scoring points as the team finished tied for eighth place overall. Coach Lonnie Greene said Purdue has addressed these needs with its 2015-16 recruiting class stockpiled with sprinters. "We just had some gaps," Greene said. "Thankfully, we have filled those gaps with some high-level recruits. We were fortunate to sign some young men who can really get it done. Even though they'll be freshmen, I think they can come in and be effective in the Big Ten immediately. "There's 26 scholarships to work with. You have to pick your poison. With the absence of the young men from football who have traditionally come out to help us, those are the gaps we didn't fill. We hit the recruiting trail pretty hard this year, and we decided if we did get the guys from football, it would just be an addition to what we have." In addition to McClintock, Chuk Enekwechi gave the Boilermakers another title with his win in the hammer throw. Purdue also received points from its 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, which finished fourth to earn Purdue 10 points combined. Tyler Askew and Anaquan Peterson finished second and seventh, respectively, in the long jump for 10 points. Peterson finished sixth in the triple jump as well, the same spot Enekwecki received in the shot put. "I was pleased with the way the field events performed," Greene said. "We've added a little more depth to those areas in FINALLY FIRST McClintock captures first Big Ten championship Purdue Matt McClintock had "a lot of weight and stress" off his shoulders after winning his first Big Ten title Sunday.