Three Huskies finish first at Blue-Gold Invite

By Joseph Segreti, Sports Reporter

December 7, 2024

Then-freshman Faith Rouse trails then-junior Talayssia Sanders Feb. 16 at the Redbird Tune-Up. NIU track and field had three athletes finish in first place at the Blue-Gold Invite Friday. (Courtesy of Illinois State Athletics)

NIU women’s track and field opened its indoor season Friday at the Blue-Gold Invite hosted by the University of Notre Dame. The Huskies left the competition winning three events.

Senior Roshell Rowe was one of three Huskies to earn first place finishes in the Huskies’ visit to South Bend, Indiana. Rowe took home first place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.88 seconds.

Freshman Emma Curry finished behind Rowe in second place in the 400, finishing with a time of 57.09 seconds.

Freshman Jasmijn Raes championed the high jump in her first collegiate meet, clearing the mark of 1.75 meters.

Sophomore Arianna Calloway finished in fifth place for the high jump after she cleared the mark of 1.70 meters.

Finishing last year as a standout freshman, Calloway set the NIU record for high jump as she cleared the mark of 1.80 meters. Calloway also earned second team all-MAC honors for both the indoor and outdoor season in her first year at NIU.

Freshman Precious Umukoro was the third Huskie to finish in first place, as she took the crown in the long jump. Umukoro jumped 5.95 meters to earn first place.

Freshman Rachel Dietrich finished in third place in the women’s 1,000 meter run, finishing with a time of 3:09.59. Dietrich finished 20 seconds behind Marquette University senior Daylee Braden in first place.

Freshman Esther Momalife earned two top-five finishes at the invitational in the 60 and 200-meter dash.

Momalife finished in third in the 200, completing the event with a time of 25.25 seconds. Freshman Samira Huber also competed in the 200, finishing in sixth with a time of 25.94 seconds.

Momalife also finished in fifth place in the 60-meter, recording a time of 7.82 seconds and finishing one one hundredth of a second faster than her teammate Huber.

The Huskies’ 4×400 meter relay team finished in second place to cap off NIU’s first competition of the season. The relay team, consisting of Rowe, Curry, senior Olivia Southby and Momalife, finished with a time of 3:57.74.

The Butler University 4×400 relay team took first place in the event, beating the Huskies by seven tenths of a second.

The Huskies’ next invitational will be Jan. 11 in Chicago. The event is the Wisconsin Midwest Invite hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.