AKRON, Ohio – Diamond Riley (St. Louis, Mo.) won the triple jump and the Northern Illinois University women's track and field team recorded five runner-up finishes as the Huskies claimed fifth at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships on Saturday (May 13) at the Lee R. Jackson Track and Field Complex. 

"What a way to end the third day of competition," said NIU Director of Track and Field Connie Teaberry. "Every single athlete knew the assignment and came prepared to fight. Regardless of where the points fell, heart is all the staff asked for, and many of those points fell in our favor. The MAC meet is a competitive three days with short recovery and the athletes present did not shy away one bit, they rose to the occasion."

Riley recorded a personal best mark of 12.94 meters (42-05.50) to win the title in the triple jump. Riley's winning effort came on her fifth attempt of the competition to better second-place Brianna Richard of Bowling Green, who recorded a mark of 12.86 meters (42-02.25). Riley becomes the second Huskie to win the MAC Outdoor Triple Jump title, joining Jehvania Whyte who claimed the honor in 2018 and 2019. 

Kendal Only (Huntley, Ill.) also scored in the triple jump, earning a sixth-place finish with a season-best leap of 12.18 meters (39-11.50) on her sixth, and final, attempt of the competition. 

In the first event of the day on track, the quartet of Kimone Hines (Hanover, Jamaica), Skylynn Blue (Indianapolis, Ind.), Scout Regular (St. Louis, Mo.) and Suerethia Henderson (Lima, Ohio) ran a school record time of 45.10 seconds to finish second, narrowly behind first-place Ball State (44.93). The Huskies edged the previous school record of 45.11 seconds, set by Chanel Kellyman, Janay Mitchell, Roneisha Frye and Rasheta Butler at the 2012 MAC Championships. 

NIU had a trio of scorers in the 400-meter dash, led by Talayssia Sanders (Waco, Texas) who ran a personal best 54.65 to claim second. Kennedy Crawford (Douglasville, Ga.) ran a season-best time of 55.85 seconds to earn a fifth-place finish and Roshell Rowe (Manchester, N.J.) ran 57.57 seconds to finish eighth. 

Hines and Blue each scored points in both the 100- and 200-meter dash. Hines was second in the 100 meters in 11.68 seconds with Blue taking fifth in 11.88 seconds. In the 200, Blue earned second, running a season-best 23.76 seconds and Hines scored a sixth-place finish in 24.42. 

Regular ran a new personal-best time of 13.51 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles to finish second, just behind Eastern Michigan's Angel Gazaway (13.38).

"These ladies get overlooked often," said Teaberry. "No detail is given to them unless they win individually or the team wins.  Well, I see you ladies, all of you, those second to eighth (place) points matter. The work you put in, the sacrifices you made to get here, the long hours of class and practice, we see you and are proud of you. Your hard work does not go unnoticed and going to battle with you all this weekend was a pleasure and honor. Thank you for trusting the staff and the process, your energy and positivity was infectious this weekend. The staff is proud." 

Up next for the Huskies will be the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Sacramento, Calif., beginning on Wednesday, May 24. The field for the NCAA Preliminary will be set this upcoming week. 

Team Standings
1. Ball State, 108
2. Eastern Michigan, 105
3. Miami, 96.5
4. Bowling Green, 91
5. NIU, 76
6. Akron, 74.5
7. Kent State, 67
8. Buffalo, 62
9. Central Michigan, 57
10. Toledo, 46
11. Ohio, 28
12. Western Michigan, 7

100-meter Dash
2. Kimone Hines, 11.68
5. Skylynn Blue, 11.88

200-meter Dash
2. Skylynn Blue, 23.76
6. Kimone Hines, 24.42

400-meter Dash
2. Talayssia Sanders, 54.65
5. Kennedy Crawford, 55.85
8. Roshell Rowe, 57.57

1,500-meter Run
12. Emma Planck, 4:47.21

100-meter Hurdles
2. Scout Regular, 13.51

4x100-meter Relay
2. Hines, Blue, Regular, Henderson, 45.10

4x400-meter Relay
3. Rowe, Sanders, Henderson, Crawford, 3:41.91

High Jump
13. Dymier Jeffery, 1.59m (5-02.50)

Triple Jump
1. Diamond Riley, 12.94m (42-05.50)
6. Kendal Only, 12.18m (39-11.50)
10. Lovie Annafi, 11.82m (38-09.25)
16. Aniya Barton, 11.02m (36-01.75)