WACO, Texas – A pair of top-10 finishes highlighted the weekend for the Northern Illinois University women's track and field team at the Michael Johnson Invitational. Diamond Riley (St. Louis, Mo.) recorded a personal best mark in the triple jump to earn sixth while the Huskies had a season-best time in the 4x100-meter relay to finish fifth. 

"The Michael Johnson Invite at Baylor has always been good to us," said NIU Director of Track and Field Connie Teaberry. "It's a competition that the athletes tend to compete well in. We made additional leaps up the MAC list with improvements from Skylynn Blue in the 200, dipping into the 23's, and Kimone Hines dropping time each race. The exciting part is we know they are ready to run faster.  

"Kadeja (Campbell) made her (outdoor season) debut, running a strong finish in the 400, making 54.84 look smooth. We have been working on staying focused on her rhythm and she executed that perfectly today.  Talayssia (Sanders) and Roshell (Rowe) had seasons best runs today in their 400 races as well. I saw several race patterns that we have been working on executed today.  

"In the field Diamond Riley PR'd twice in the triple jump. I'm extremely proud of her jump sequence. She was consistent on the board and her phases are beginning to come together. Overall, another solid weekend by our athletes at the right time."

Riley recorded a personal best mark of 12.75 meters (41-10.0) in the triple jump, earning a sixth-place finish. Riley's leap, which is the second-longest in the Mid-American Conference this season, came on her fifth attempt of the competition and just bettered her fourth attempt which measured 12.74 meters (41-09.75). 

Kadeja Campbell (St. Ann, Jamaica) ran the second-best time in the MAC this season in the 400 meters, running 54.84 to claim a 14th-place finish. Talayssia Sanders (Waco, Texas) posted the fifth-fastest time in the MAC at 56.08 seconds and Roshell Rowe (Manchester, N.J.) ran 56.40 seconds, which ranks ninth in the conference. 

In the 200 meters, Skylynn Blue (Indianapolis, Ind.) ran the second-fastest time in the MAC this season, crossing the line in 23.93 seconds. Blue's time was a season-best and earned a 16th-place finish. 

The relay quartet of Kimone Hines (Hanover, Jamaica), Blue, Scout Regular (St. Louis, Mo.) and Suerethia Henderson (Lima, Ohio) finished fifth in a time of 45.22 seconds, the fastest time in the MAC this spring. NIU finished behind only Kentucky, Texas Tech, UT Arlington and TCU in the relay. 

NIU will return to action next weekend in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Drake Relays. The Huskies will begin action on Thursday, April 27. 


100-meter Dash
18. Kimone Hines, 11.76
36. Skylynn Blue, 12.03
39. Suerethia Henderson, 12.07

200-meter Dash
16. Skylynn Blue, 23.93
42. Kimone Hines, 24.59
45. Suerethia Henderson, 24.70

400-meter Dash
14. Kadeja Campbell, 54.84
28. Talayssia Sanders, 56.08
31. Roshell Rowe, 56.40
36. Jahnetta Jones, 58.15

800-meter Run
14. Kennedy Crawford, 2:17.61
18. Emma Vorpagel, 2:20.81

1,500-meter Run
12. Emma Planck, 4:41.39

5,000-meter Run
14. Katelyn Robbins, 18:36.09

100-meter Hurdles
16. Scout Regular, 14.01
19. Aquilla St. Louis, 14.22

4x100-meter Relay
5. Hines, Blue, Regular, Henderson, 45.22

Triple Jump
6. Diamond Riley, 12.75m (41-10.0)
18. Lovie Annafi, 11.59m (38-00.25)