Caleb Swanigan, Devynne Charlton Named Purdue Athletes of the Year

The Purdue athletic department is wrapping up things for the 2016-17 school year and today it named its male and female athletes of the year. It was really no surprise for either.

Female Athlete of the Year: Devynne Charlton - Track & Field

Charlton was outstanding for the women’s track team that was runner-up in the Big Ten during the indoor season and won the women’s outdoor track & field championships. She finished the year with five Big Ten championships and three First Team All-America honors. Oh, and before all this she qualified to represent her native Bahamas in the Rio Olympics.

Just yesterday Charlton finished with a school record int he 100 meter hurdles. She finished 5th at the NCAA outdoor meet and helped lead Purdue to a 21st place finish as a team. From the Purdue release:

Charlton broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles (7.93 seconds), 60-meter dash (7.26 seconds), 100-meter dash (11.31 seconds), 100-meter hurdles (12.74 seconds) and as a member of the shuttle hurdle relay team (53.85 seconds) across both seasons. She also ran the No. 2 time in school history in the indoor 200-meter dash (23.53 seconds). She was twice named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week, with one indoors and one outdoors. At the Drake Relays, she competed in the Rio Rematch 100-meter hurdles race and finished ahead of three Olympic finalists, including the bronze medalist.

Charlton was one of the main reasons the women earned their highest in-season rankings in program history indoors (12^th) and outdoors (14^th). She scored eight of the teams 12 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships to lead the women’s team to a 14^th-place finish, the second-highest placing in program history. Outdoors, she scored four of the team’s 10 points to lead the team to a 21^st-place finish, the fifth-highest in program history.

This was Charlton’s second Purdue Female Athlete of the Year Award. She was the 2015 winner as well.

Male Athlete of the Year: Caleb Swanigan - Basketball

With the possible exception of Steele Johnson, who won an Olympic medal and two national titles in diving, Swanigan was the runaway winner for this honor. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a First Team All-American. A human double-double, he was also a finalist for several National Player of the Year awards. Also from Purdue’s release:

Swanigan recorded one of the top statistical seasons in not only Purdue history, but NCAA history, en route to first-team honors. Swanigan averaged 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field, 44.7 percent from 3-point range and 78.1 percent from the free throw line.

He is the only major-college player (and one of two players total) to record 600 points, 400 rebounds and 100 assists in a season (Towson's Jerrelle Benimon in 2013-14). He joins legendary Tim Duncan of Wake Forest (1996-97 season) as the only players in the last 25 years to average at least 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a season.

Swanigan is the only player in the last 31 years (since the 1985-86 season) with at least 640 points, 430 rebounds and 100 assists.

Of course, Biggie will be drafted by some lucky NBA team in the next few weeks. He was also a Second Team Academic All-American and is less than a year from receiving his degree as well.