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Track takes three at Cyclone Holiday Preview

December 12, 2011
Chanel Kellyman

Chanel Kellyman

The Northern Illinois track and field team got their season off to a blistering start Friday at the Cyclone Holiday Preview, as three Huskies took event titles and two school records were broken.

Janay Mitchell (60m), Roneisha Frye (60m hurdles) and Rebecca Cronin won their respective events in convincing fashion, while Mitchel and Rasheta Butler (300m) shattered NIU records at the meet.

“The team had a solid start today,” said NIU head coach Connie Teaberry. “The ladies competed with heart and determination, which enabled us to have great performances. It’s a great start to the 2011-12 season.”

Mitchell, a sophomore from Teaneck, N.J., shattered the NIU record in the 60m dash with a blistering run of 7.57 in the prelims, outpacing Chanel Kellyman‘s second place time by two-hundreths of a second and breaking her old school record of 7.69. Mitchell’s and the Huskies’ would steal the show in the finals, as Mitchell and Kellyman finished one-two, while Brittany Smith and Megan Gregory took sixth and seventh.

The Huskie dominance in the sprints continued in the sprints carried over to the 60m hurdles, where Frye won the event with an 8.66 clip in the finals. Not far behind was Gregory, who crossed the finish line with a time of 8.75.

Meanwhile, Butler broke Coretta Evans‘ school record in the 300m with an even 40.00 run to take third. Cronin would make it three wins for NIU when she controlled the 800m with a time of 2:17.60, outpacing second place by over 14 seconds.

NIU also found success in the 4x400m relay, where both Huskie teams finished in the top four. The quartet of Kellyman, Cronin, Mitchell and Butler took second place behind a time of 3:55.95. A few seconds later, Jenelle McCalla, Erica Miller, Smith and Erin Milner crossed the line at 4:06.14.

In the field events, three members of the Cardinal and Black earned top five placings.

Kelly Moser had an impressive showing in the high jump when she cleared 5-03.75 (1.62m) to take second place. In the triple jump, Jenner Sio took third place with a 38-03.25 (11.66m) mark. Freshman Taylor Jenkins would take fifth place in the pole vault when she reached 10-00.00 (3.05m).

On a side note, NIU assistant coach Kevin Dwyer, competing as an unattached athlete, won the men’s pentathlon by taking four of the five events. His final score of 3872 also allowed Dwyer to qualify for the USA Track & Field Indoor Nationals in March.

The Huskies will return to action Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, when they travel to Lawrence, Kan., for the Bill Easton Classic, hosted by Kansas. The meet begins at 1 p.m.

For more information on NIU track and field and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.