GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A pair of new school records were set as the Northern Illinois University women's track and field team competed at Florida's Tom Jones Memorial this Friday and Saturday. On Friday (April 15), Jazmyn Smith (Pinecrest, Fla./Gulliver Prep) set a new school record in the long jump while Saturday (April 16) Kadeja Campbell (St. Ann, Jamaica/Southern-New Orleans) broke the school record in the 400-meter dash.

"Florida proved to be a successful competition and the great weather helped the athletes achieve needed times and field event marks, including a pair of school records," said NIU Director of Track and Field Connie Teabeary. "We can't get comfortable. Every competition left we have to continue improving to be ready for the MAC championships in three weeks. As a coach, it's always rewarding to see the athletes' hard work come into fruition. The Huskies are grinding hard and it's showing."

Smith leaped 6.08 meters (19-11.50) to finish second in the long jump and set a new school mark, also the best in the conference this season. Her best mark of the competition came on her second attempt of the day and bettered the previous school record of 6.06 meters (19-10.75) that she also owned and set at the Drake Relays on April 23, 2021. North Carolina's Anna Keefer won the long jump with a mark of 6.40 meters (21-00.00). 

Campbell's new school record in the 400 meters was also a mark that she previously held. Campbell ran a MAC-best time of 54.43 seconds, finishing just outside the top-20 in an outstanding field, while taking eight one-hundredths of a second off the previous record of 54.51, which was originally set by Ashanti Hutton at the US Junior Championships in 2015 and tied by Campbell at last year's Mid-American Conference Championships. 

In the 100-meter dash, NIU had a pair of personal best times as Skylynn Blue (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) and Malia Watkins (Upper Marlboro, Md./Missouri State) both posted top-30 finishes. Blue was 25th with a time of 11.79 seconds, second-best in the MAC this season, while Watkins was 28th in 11.82, third best in the conference this year.

Blue also ran a personal best, and fastest in the MAC, time in the 200-meter dash, clocking in at 23.67 seconds to take 22nd. Watkins ran 24.16 in the 200, second quickest in the conference this year, while Jahnetta Jones (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) had a personal best time of 24.52 seconds, which ranks fifth in the MAC in 2022. 

Scout Regular (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy) recorded the fastest time in the MAC in the 100-meter hurdles, running a time of 13.81 seconds to finish 19th.

Kayla La Fontain (Brookefield, Wis./Brookfield East) also had a personal best time at Florida, running 2:21.38 in the 800 meters. 

In addition to the Tom Jones Memorial, a number of Huskie distance runners headed west to compete in Drake's Jim Duncan Invitational. 

"This is probably as healthy as our (distance) group has been since I got here in August," said NIU Distance Coach Jamie Moreno. "We continue to make progress and had a solid showing. We had a number of PR's and, overall, I am happy with the progress that we are making." 

Kaitlin Miller (Rochester, Minn./Rochester Century) had a personal best time of 17:50.06 in the 5,000 meters, finishing fourth to lead three Huskies in the top-six. Hannah Ricci (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) was fifth in 17:52.56 and Sara Atkins (Warrenville, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) was sixth in 18:06.88. Joy Jackson (North Aurora, Ill./Benet Academy) also ran a personal best time of 18:38.33. 

Emma Vorpagel (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) was fifth in the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:18.24 while Brooke Lytle (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West) was second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:57.34 and Grace Louis (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) ran a personal best time of 11:27.01 to finish third. 

Next weekend the Huskies to travel to Iowa City, Iowa to compete in the Musco Twilight beginning on Friday, April 22. 


Tom Jones Memorial

100-meter Dash
25. Skylynn Blue, 11.79
28. Malia Watkins, 11.82
45. Jazmyn Smith, 12.18

200-meter Dash
22. Skylynn Blue, 23.67
44. Malia Watkins, 24.16
52. Jahnetta Jones, 24.52

400-meter Dash
21. Kadeja Campbell, 54.43
38. Kaitlyn Lewis, 57.14
43. Roshell Rowe, 58.11

800-meter Run
40. Kayla La Fontain, 2:21.38

100-meter Hurdles
19. Scout Regular, 13.81
30. Taylor Ramsey, 14.78

400-meter Hurdles
22. Kennedy Crawford, 1:02.62

4x100-meter Relay
15. Blue, Watkins, Smith, Jones, 47.73

High Jump
5. Dymier Jeffery, 1.65m (5-05.00)

Long Jump
2. Jazmyn Smith, 6.08m (19-11.50)
18. Kenyae Majors, 5.56m (18-03.00)
24. Katrina Small, 5.48m (17-11.75)

Triple Jump
20. Diamond Riley, 11.78m (38-07.75)
21. Katrina Small, 11.71m (38-05.00)

Discus
25. Fatima Stingily, 35.23m (115-07)

Hammer Throw
25. Fatima Stingily, 36.03m (118-02)

Javelin
17. Taylor Ramsey, 30.33m (99-06)
20. Dymier Jeffery, 19.08m (62-07)

Shot Put
26. Fatima Stingily, 11.54m (37-10.50)

Jim Duncan Invitational

800-meter Run
5. Emma Vorpagel, 2:18.24
11. Julia Finegan, 2:23.37

1,500-meter Run
13. Meagan Biddle, 5:16.68

5,000-meter Run
4. Kaitlin Miller, 17:50.06
5. Hannah Ricci, 17:52.56
6. Sara Atkins, 18:06.88
10. Joy Jackson, 18:38.33

3,000-meter Steeplechase
2. Brooke Lytle, 10:57.34
3. Grace Louis, 11:27.01