The Northern Illinois track and field team will have a program-record four entries in the NCAA West Preliminary Round from Thursday, May 24, through Saturday, May 26, the NCAA announced Thursday.
Janay Mitchell will compete in both the 100 meters and 200 meters, while Roneisha Frye runs in the 100 hurdles and the quartet of Chanel Kellyman, Mitchell, Frye and Rasheta Butler represent NIU in the 4×100 relay.
“Our ladies have worked hard to achieve this opportunity to compete at the NCAA Preliminary Round,” said Huskie head coach Connie Teaberry. “The staff is proud of their efforts thus far and we are expecting to see continued improvements at the NCAAs. Their efforts have definitely given Northern Illinois exposure and now we are hungry to be recognized nationally.”
Mitchell used strong performances at the Mid-American Conference Championships to vault herself into the 100 meter and 200 meter fields. The junior’s time of 11.61 in the 100 meters currently puts her in a tie for the 31st-fastest and her 24.02 clip in the 200 meters ranks in 40th in the region.
Meanwhile, Frye solidified her spot among the 100 hurdles qualifiers with her 13.63 run at the MAC Championships and sits with the 32nd-best time in the West.
The 4×100 relay team comes into the West Prelims with a season-best mark of 45.11 that also came at last weekend’s conference meet. Kellyman, Mitchell, Frye and Butler are the 19th-seeded team, trailing Pac-12 powers Arizona and Washington State by less than a tenth of a second.
NIU also had several near misses in the final qualifying lists.
Kellyman missed the cut line for the 100 meters by three-hundredths of a second, Rebecca Cronin came short in the 800 meters by 14 hundredths of a second and Courtney Oldenburg was 21 hundredths of a second away in the 1500 meters. Additionally, Juliane Totzke missed the 5000 meters by 12 seconds and Jenner Sio was 3.5 inches short in the triple jump.
For more information on NIU track and field and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.