DES MOINES, Iowa – The Northern Illinois University women's track and field team recorded three top five finishes at the Drake Relays, as well as two event wins at the ONU Outdoor Open and a pair of top three marks at the Kip Janvrin Open as the Huskies competed in all three events this weekend. 

"Another week of a few athletes putting themselves in prime position for MAC with improvements," said NIU Director of Track and Field Connie Teaberry. "Emma Vorpagel again set her bar high and met the challenge in the 800 at the Drake Relays setting another PR this week, moving up on the all-time NIU rankings list to 4th, and now sits number one on the Outdoor MAC list. Her run was technically sound and we believe she has more time to drop. 

"In the field, Kamiya Dendy also leaped to a new seasons best finally setting her nerves aside and enjoying the opportunity to compete at the Drake Relays. While Samira Rosenfeld improved her high jump performance at ONU putting together technical aspects of her event to place herself in the MAC list. Talayssia Sanders keeps opening the door with strong efforts. She will drop soon and I'm impressed with her ability this year to keep fighting after being injured during indoors. I believe something special is coming from her soon. I'm proud of our group of athletes that competed this weekend, all were locked in and understood this week's urgency. Weather permitting, we will see more this weekend at our home meet Saturday."

At Drake, Emma Vorpagel (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) finished second in the unseeded section of the 800 meters, Kamiya Dendy (Anderson, S.C./Pendleton) was fourth in the high jump and Precious Umukoro (Villarreal, Spain) was fifth in the triple jump. 

Vorpagel finished second in the 800, running a time of 2:08.00, which is the fourth-best in program history and the fastest by a Huskie since 2017. It is also the fastest time in the Mid-American Conference this spring. She finished less than a second behind winner Lina Maatouk (2:07.46).

In the high jump, Dendy cleared a season-high mark of 1.75 meters (5-08.75) on her second attempt at the height to earn a fourth-place finish. Her mark is the third-best in the MAC this spring. 

Umukoro claimed fifth in the triple jump with a top mark of 11.87 meters (38-11.50). 

At the Olivet Nazarene Outdoor Open, Samira Rosenfeld (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) took top honors in the high jump while Bailey Wilk (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) led the way in the 3,000 meters. 

Rosenfeld cleared a season-best height of 1.66 meters (5-05.25) to win the high jump by four inches. Wilk meanwhile topped the 18-runner field in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:32.78, nearly five second ahead of the rest of the field. 

At the Kip Janvrin Open, hosted by Simpson College, Giorgia Fino (Francavila Fontana, Italy) recorded a mark of 35.00 meters (114-10) on her first attempt of the day in the javelin to finish third. In the 100 meters, NIU had a pair of top-five finishers as Sam Huber (Villingendorf, Germany) claimed third, running 12.21 in the final and Esther Momalife (Lagos, Nigeria) finished fifth, running 12.37 seconds. 

NIU will make its lone home appearance of the season next Saturday, May 3, in the Huskie Classic at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. Competition will begin with field events at 10:30 a.m. with action on track slated to begin at 1 p.m. 


Drake Relays

400-meter Run (Univ/Coll) 
10. Talayssia Sanders, 56.76

800-meter Run (Univ/Coll Unseeded) 
2. Emma Vorpagel, 2:08.00

Sprint Medley Relay (Univ) 
12. Oyebode, Momalife, Sanders, Vorpagel, 4:03.40

High Jump (Univ/Coll) 
4. Kamiya Dendy, 1.75m (5-08.75)
13. Jasmijn Raes, 1.66m (5-05.25)

Long Jump (Univ/Coll) 
11. Precious Umukoro, 5.57m (18-03.25)

Triple Jump (Univ/Coll) 
5. Precious Umukoro, 11.87m (38-11.50)
13. Aniya Barton, 11.13m (36-06.25)


Kip Janvrin Open

100-meter Dash
3. Sam Huber, 12.21 (12.30q)
5. Esther Momalife, 12.37 (12.32q)
19. Mariah Gonzalez, 12.98 
33. Ari Christian, 13.37

200-meter Dash
28. Ari Christian, 27.65
43. Mariah Gonzalez, 28.23

800-meter Run
8. Rachel Dietrich, 2:17.55

Discus
39. Ella Bertram, 28.40m (93-02)

Javelin
3. Giorgia Fino, 35.00m (114-10)
9. Ella Bertram, 30.25m (99-03)


ONU Outdoor Open

100-meter Dash
12. Samira Rosenfeld, 13.21

400-meter Dash
10. Olivia Southby, 1:02.46

1,500-meter Run
15. Carly Leonard, 5:24.45

3,000-meter Run
1. Bailey Wilk, 10:32.78

Discus
12. Emily Rublein, 26.21m (86-00)

High Jump
1. Samira Rosenfeld, 1.66m (5-05.25)