DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's track and field team concluded the outdoor regular season with seven event victories as it hosted the Huskie Classic on Saturday afternoon (May 6) at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. 

Skylynn Blue (Indianapolis, Ind.) won the 100 meters in a new school record time, Dymier Jeffery (Richmond, Va.) claimed the high jump title, Scout Regular (St. Louis, Mo.) was victorious in the 100 hurdles, Diamond Riley (St. Louis, Mo.) earned the long jump crown, Katelyn Robbins (Liberty, Ill./Liberty) took the top spot in the 5,000 meters and NIU won both relays as the Huskies competed at home for the first time since 2019. 

"It was a great day," said NIU Director of Track and Field Connie Teaberry. "The weather held off for us, even though we had a bit of rain at the beginning. We had a great day of competition; a lot of the girls didn't do their regular events. For example, Kennedy (Crawford) runs the 400 and 800, but she ran the 200 today so we could work on some speed mechanics. It was a great day for the team, they were able to compete in front of friends and family and we truly appreciate all the support we had."

Blue led a sweep of the top-three spots in the 100 meters, running a time of 11.41 seconds, the fastest mark in the Mid-American Conference this season, while setting a new school record, breaking the previous mark of 11.52 set by Kedisha Dallas in 2016. Kimone Hines (Hanover, Jamaica) was second, running 11.58, the third-best time in the conference this year, and Suerethia Henderson (Lima, Ohio) was third with the MAC's ninth-best time this season of 11.86 seconds. 

"That was a great 100, we finally clicked on our execution," said Teaberry. "We had been having some problems with Sky in the start feeling comfortable, and I think she found her niche. Kimone bolted out like a rocket and that propelled her to 11.58, her PR is 11.54 but we think at MAC she will hit that too because she didn't run the last six meters."

In the long jump, Riley recorded a leap of 5.72 meters (18-09.25) to take the title. Riley's winning jump came on her fifth attempt of the day and is the ninth-best mark in the conference this season. 

"We have been just focusing on (her) triple jump since we have had problems getting on the board," said Teaberry. "But today, at home, we figured we would try to do both and see what we came out with and that definitely helped her move up in the conference."

Regular was just two one-hundredths off her season best as she earned the top spot in the 100-meter hurdles, winning with a time of 13.80 seconds. 

NIU won both of the relays as Hines, Blue, Regular and Henderson teamed to record a time of 45.90 seconds in the 4x100 meters. The Huskies claimed the 4x400 meters with a time of 3:54.27 with Roshell Rowe (Manchester, N.J.), Talayssia Sanders (Waco, Texas), Henderson and Kennedy Crawford (Douglasville, Ga.) combining for the victory. 

In the 5,000 meters, Robbins ran a time of 18:50.80 to take the top spot. Along with Hines in the 100 meters, NIU also had four other runner-up finishes with Emma Planck (Downington, Pa.) in the 800 meters, Sarah McLaughlin (Rockford, Ill.) in the 5,000, Riley in the triple jump and Emily Rublein (Madison, Wis.) in the shot put. 

"It felt good to compete at home," said Teaberry. "It is always fun to see your team excel in front of family and friends, as well as our administration. So many people don't know what we do, they see stories or pictures and hear about things, but they don't get a chance to see the work our team puts in, and how long the days are. I really love being able to have home competitions."

Next weekend, NIU will travel to Akron, Ohio for the MAC Outdoor Championships. The competition begins on Thursday, May 11, and continues through Saturday, May 13. 

100-meter Dash
1. Skylynn Blue, 11.41
2. Kimone Hines, 11.58
3. Suerethia Henderson, 11.86
6. Aquilla St. Louis, 12.29
10. Ari Christian, 13.03

200-meter Dash
4. Kennedy Crawford, 25.27
6. Roshell Rowe, 25.66
8. Talayssia Sanders, 25.68
12. Ari Christian, 27.29

800-meter Run
2. Emma Planck, 2:22.20
3. Julia Finegan, 2:25.12
4. Emma Vorpagel, 2:25.15
6. Kayla La Fontain, 2:33.13
10. Olivia Southby, 2:35.76
13. Carly Leonard, 2:37.89

1,500-meter Run
3. Emma Planck, 4:47.68
4. Julia Finegan, 4:55.59

3,000-meter Run
5. Joy Jackson, 10:44.07

5,000-meter Run
1. Katelyn Robbins, 18:50.80
2. Sarah McLaughlin, 21:49.45

100-meter Hurdles
1. Scout Regular, 13.80

4x100-meter Relay
1. Hines, Blue, Regular, Henderson, 45.90

4x400-meter Relay
1. Rowe, Sanders, Henderson, Crawford, 3:54.27
3. La Fontain, Vorpagel, Finegan, Southby, 4:19.68

High Jump
1. Dymier Jeffery, 1.60m (5-03.00)

Long Jump
1. Diamond Riley, 5.72m (18-09.25)
5. Kendal Only, 5.10m (16-08.75)
7. Lovie Annafi, 4.83m (15-10.25)

Triple Jump
2. Diamond Riley, 12.49m (40-11.75)
5. Aniya Barton, 11.39m (37-04.50)

Shot Put
2. Emily Rublein, 7.00m (22-11.75)

Discus
4. Emily Rublein, 24.33m (79-10)