Women's Track and Field | May 18

DeKALB, Ill. – Freshman distance runner Ashley Tutt (Channahon, Ill./Minooka), sophomore hurdler Remy Amarteifio (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) and junior jumper Jehvania Whyte (Kingston, Jamaica/Vere Technical) will represent Northern Illinois University at the 2018 NCAA Track & Field West Preliminary round next Friday and Saturday.
 
"This is a great but expected accomplishment for these athletes that have had success the entire year," said Director of NIU Track & Field Connie Teaberry. "Their work ethic, willingness to sacrifice, and desire to win never falters. The staff has watched each athlete transform into competitive beasts in their respective events, and they will not lay down without a fight. We truly believe that each of them can make it out of the Preliminary round. Oregon is definitely a possibility for each athlete."  
 
The trio have made their efforts this season look easy with new school and personal records continuously following their performances.
 
Tutt's berth into the NCAA Preliminary's 10k race is not unexpected. Her freshman year began with an outstanding cross country season, earning her first Mid-American Conference Female Freshman of the Year award with a 13^th-place finish and as the first in her class to cross the finish line.
 
She continued into the spring semester with two additional cross country races as she was chosen to run in the 2018 USA Track & Field Junior Women's Championship, where she earned the Championship title and was named to the USA Junior Team to compete in El Salvador at the 2018 North America, Central America, and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships. She finished first for USA and sixth, overall.
 
Tutt returned to run in the MAC Championships the following weekend. Once again, she was named MAC Female Freshman of the Year as she took fifth and eighth in the 3k and 5k races, setting personal best times in both.
 
Most recently, Tutt took third place at the MAC Championships with a school record 5k time of 16:15.52, edging out former Huskie Kelsey Hildreth's previous school record of 16:30.04 from the 2016 Drake Relays. Her efforts did not stop there, as she took sixth in the 10k race with a personal best of 34:52.6 to sweep the year's MAC Female Freshman of the Year awards.  
 
Amarteifio's NCAA berth was earned off her MAC Championship performance in the 100-meter hurdles. Amarteifio broke the school record by a hundredth of a second as she came in third in 13.48 to break former Huskie Latesha Bigby's 13.49 finish at the 2015 NCAA Preliminaries.
 
Whyte has broken two school records this season in both the triple and long jump events. Ranked seventh in the Nation, Whyte's jump at the Michael Johnson Invitational (April 21) landed her the a 13.42-meter jump (44' 0.50") school record and a ticket to the Preliminaries. Last weekend, she was the only MAC female athlete to earn a mark over 13 meters, earning her the MAC Champion title.
 
Her competitiveness also brought the Huskies a new long jump school record. At the MAC Championships, she was able to come out with another school record in the long jump competition with a jump of six meters (19' 8.25") to finish fourth, overall.
 
Like Tutt, Whyte's success has been consistent throughout the year with another Championship title in the triple jump during the indoor season. She earned a ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships, where she took eighth place to become NIU's first Indoor All-American.
 
The Huskies continuously fight to get better and fans will have the opportunity to follow these three for at least one more competition in Sacramento, Calif. Next Friday and Saturday. Additional information on the trio's NCAA competitions can be found at NIUHuskies.com or by following @NIUXCTrack on Twitter.
 
-NIU-