KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Taylor Ramsey (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central) earned a fourth-place finish in the javelin as the Northern Illinois University women's track and field team began action at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday (May 12) at Western Michigan's Kanley Track. 

"Taylor (Ramsey) did a great job for us today," said NIU Director of Track and Field Connie Teaberry. "She was in great shape and wanted to do something big to finish her four seasons and to be able to score (in the javelin) and move up from where she finished last year, was a great accomplishment. 

"Skylynn (Blue) and Malia (Watkins) knew what the today was all about, doing what they had to do to move on to the next round and live to fight another day. They both did that and put themselves in position for the (200) final on Saturday and they will both turn around and try to do that again in the 100 (meter dash) on Friday."

Just nine Huskies competed in the first day of action at the conference meet, highlighted by Ramsey's performance that scored five points for NIU. Ramsey recorded her best throw of the day with her third attempt, measuring a season-best mark of 36.46 meters (119-07). This marks the second consecutive season that Ramsey has scored in the javelin at the conference championship, she finished seventh a season ago. 

Ramsey also began action in the heptathlon, posting top-five finishes in the first two events, the 100-meter hurdles and the high jump, before being forced to pullout due to an injury. 

In the prelims of the 200-meter dash, Skylynn Blue (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) and Malia Watkins (Upper Marlboro, Md./Missouri State) each advanced to Saturday's final. Blue came into the weekend as the top seed and advanced with the fastest time of the preliminaries, running 23.97 seconds to win heat one. Watkins automatically advanced to the final by finishing second in heat three with a time of 24.82 seconds. 

Action will resume at the MAC Outdoor Championships on Friday, May 13, with the first women's event scheduled for 11 a.m. CT, the resumption of the heptathlon. The first women's field event is the shot put, scheduled for 2 p.m. CT while track events begin at 2:30 p.m. CT with the preliminary rounds of the 100-meter hurdles. 

Team Standings (Three of 21 Events Scored)
1. Kent State, 22
T2. Eastern Michigan, 19
T2. Toledo, 19
4. Akron, 13
5. Miami, 11
6. Bowling Green, 10
7. Buffalo, 6
T8. Central Michigan, 5
T8. NIU, 5
T8. Western Michigan, 5
11. Ohio, 2

200-meter Dash Prelims
1. Skylynn Blue, 23.97
6. Malia Watkins, 24.82 
13. Jahnetta Jones, 25.06

400-meter Hurdles Prelims
13. Kennedy Crawford, 1:03.26

10,000-meter Run
21. Sara Atkins, 38:02.75
22. Kaitlin Miller, 38:08.59
26. Hannah Ricci, 38:49.72

Javelin
4. Taylor Ramsey, 36.46m (119-07)
12. Fatima Stingily, 25.82m (84-08)

Heptathlon 100-meter Hurdles
4. Taylor Ramsey, 14.65 (888 points)

Heptathlon High Jump
5. Taylor Ramsey, 1.58m (5-02.25) (712 points)