KENT, Ohio – Senior Jehvania Whyte (Kingston, Jamaica/Vere Technical) won the triple jump for the second consecutive season at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships as the Huskies earned a seventh-place finish at Saturday at the Kent State Field House. Freshman Taylor Tilmon (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes) was named the MAC Freshman Track Performer of the Year while freshman Diamond Riley (St. Louis, Mo./Ritenour) was named the MAC Freshman Field Performer of the Year.

"The MAC meet is full of ebbs and flows, some go your way, and some do not," said NIU Director of Track and Field Connie Teaberry. "This was a weekend where we rolled into Kent with the youngest team in the conference and competed like veterans. With the number of bodies we brought, we hit in most of the areas we were supposed to, which was reflected in having both the Track Freshman of the Year and Field Freshman of the Year.

"We have championship DNA and that was on display, now we just have to get more from it in the seasons ahead and that will come with further maturation."

Whyte put on a dominating performance in the triple jump, topping the field by more than a foot with a best leap of 12.96m (42-06.25), which came on her second attempt. Whyte also had the second (12.74m) and third (12.64m) best leaps of the competition.

In the 400-meter final, Tilmon clocked in with a time of 55.69 to take seventh, Central Michigan's Gabriella Beauvais won the event in 53.55 seconds.

"Taylor Tilmon qualified for what became the fastest final in the history of the championships, where three athletes broke the meet record," said Teaberry. "She first did the hard job of qualifying herself a lane in the final, but then placing seventh overall was outstanding for her."

While Whyte was winning the triple jump, Riley bettered the rest of the field, measuring 12.63m (41-05.25) on her first jump of the competition, which would prove to be good enough for second place.

"Diamond Riley was able to chase her teammate, MAC Champion and All-American Jehvania Whyte, to sweep the triple jump, one-two. That's special," said Teaberry. "Those are tough positions to be put in at 18 years of age, but the right people will embrace it. To see them put under pressure and properly execute was exciting. That is a sign of the direction we're going in.

"They aren't the only once that did that this weekend either, we had numerous athletes step up and put points up for us. We have a great young squad, but just need more from them. If we keep our heads on straight, and continue to see this through, we can create a lot of history in the years to come. I am very proud of this group and the staff is looking forward to experiencing successes to come."

In the 60-meter hurdles, junior Remy Amarteifio (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) earned fourth-place for NIU with a time of 8.40 seconds. She was also a part of NIU's fourth-place team in the 4x400-meter relay, along with Tilmon, junior NeShay Curtis (St. Louis, Mo./McCluer South Berkeley) and freshman Kaitlyn Lewis (Liberty, Mo./Liberty) in 3:44.93

Sophomore Nora Finegan (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) scored points for NIU with a seventh-place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 2:14.32, while freshman Taylor Ramsey (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central) cleared 1.65m (5-05.00) to earn eighth in the high jump.

NIU will begin the outdoor season at the two-day Black and Gold Invitational, hosted by Central Florida in Orlando, March 15-16.

Team Standings
1. Central Michigan, 114.5
2. Eastern Michigan, 91
3. Akron, 84
4. Toledo, 69
5. Western Michigan, 62
6. Kent State, 56.5
7. NIU, 48
8. Ball State, 43
9. Bowling Green, 32
10. Miami, 29
T11. Buffalo, 17
T11. Ohio, 17

400-meter Dash
7. Taylor Tilmon, 55.69

800-meter Run
7. Nora Finegan, 2:14.32

Mile Run
9. Mackenzie Callahan, 4:59.59
15. Melissa Ricci, 5:06.10
20. Hannah Ricci, 5:18.18

3,000-meter Run
13. Vivian Overbeck, 10:11.32
17. Ericka Hibser, 10:27.55

60-meter Hurdles
4. Remy Amarteifio, 8.40

4x400-meter Relay
4. Taylor Tilmon, Remy Amarteifio, NeShay Curtis, Kaitlyn Lewis, 3:44.93

High Jump
8. Taylor Ramsey, 1.65m (5-05.00)

Triple Jump
1. Jehvania Whyte, 12.96m (42-06.25)
2. Diamond Riley, 12.63m (41-05.25)