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More records fall as Huskie track & field takes second place at Ball State Quadrangular meet

February 18, 2012
Roneisha Frye

Roneisha Frye

The Northern Illinois track & field team ended their 2011-12 indoor regular season with an impressive showing at the Ball State Quadrangular, as they captured three event titles and broke two school records.

As a team, the Huskies placed second in the field of four with 109 points, edging out Ball State by a three-point margin. Western Michigan won the meet with 167 points and Miami (Ohio) took fourth place with 82.

“We had some very positive results today, but we also had some areas that need tweaking before next week’s MAC Championships,” said NIU head coach Connie Teaberry. “The staff can definitely see that the ladies are believing in themselves and each other, which shows in their performances.”

Janay Mitchell broke the NIU record again in the 60 meters, clocking in this time at 7.54 to take the top spot in the event. This marks the third time in 2011-12 that the Teaneck, N.J., native has broken the school’s top mark, which was 7.69 heading into the indoor season. Chanel Kellyman ran in second place with a 7.56 clip.

Meanwhile, Roneisha Frye etched her name into Northern’s record book with an outstanding performance in the 60 hurdles.

After running the fastest time in the prelims with a time of 8.63, Frye set the new Huskie standard in the event when she crossed the finish line at 8.59 to take second place – one-hundredth of a second behind WMU’s Iris Campbell. Megan Gregory, the previous school record holder in the event at 8.60, finished fourth with a finals time of 8.75.

Mitchell, though, was not done, yet. She also won the 200 meters with a time of 25.19, pacing the NIU charge that saw four Huskies in the top eight. Rasheta Butler finished fifth at 25.41, Frye was seventh at 25.50 and Gregory was eighth at 25.80.

The third Huskie win also came in the sprints courtesy of the 4×400 relay team. Needing seven points to overtake the host Cardinals in the team standings, the quartet of Kellyman, Rebecca Cronin, Julianne Cronin and Butler earned top honors over WMU with a time of 3:50.73, outdoing the Broncos’ four by six-hundredths of a second.

Besides Frye in the 60 hurdles, three other NIU athletes took second place in their respective events. Jumper Jenner Sio, fresh off a school record performance at last weekend’s Iowa State Classic, earned silver in the triple jump with a 36-10.25 mark. Jamie Burr finished number two in the 800 meters with a time of 2:15.45, while Claire McAuley was the runner up in the 3000 meters with a personal best 10:31.22.

A pair of Huskies contributed third place showings on the night with Rebecca Cronin hitting a career-low time of 57.68 in the 400 meters and Kelly Moser reaching 5-01.00 in the high jump.

NIU returns to action next weekend when they compete at the 2012 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships in Akron, Ohio. The meet begins Friday, Feb. 24, and concludes Saturday, Feb. 25, inside the spacious Stile Field House.

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