NIU track and field tied for ninth place with 30 overall team points and strong individual performances at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championship.
The Huskies competed in the MAC Indoor Championship Friday and Saturday in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
The Huskies had two second-place finishers in two separate events. NIU also had three athletes finish top four in the high jump competition.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Heading into this meet, freshman Precious Umukoro was ranked third in the MAC in long jump. Umukoro lived up to her ranking by finishing in second place in Friday’s long jump indoor competition.
Umukoro’s consistent success this season helped her get MAC Women’s Indoor Freshman Field Performer of the Year honors.
Umukoro jumped 6.00 meters Friday, topping her previous season-best mark of 5.95 meters, which she set at the University of Notre Dame Blue-Gold Invitational on Dec. 6.
Senior Samira Rosenfeld competed in five competitions in the indoor pentathlon events and had an overall finish of 10th in the standings. She had her best performance in the 800-meter run pentathlon event in which she finished sixth.
Sophomore Sadiya Shamsid-Deen finished in ninth place in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 57.60.
SATURDAY’S RESULTS
The Huskies proved they are a top competitor in the high jump competition in the MAC, as they finished with three of the top four finishers in the high jump competition.
Senior Kamiya Dendy’s streak of back-to-back first-place finishes ended at the MAC Championship, but she still managed to finish in second place. Dendy was perfect in her first four attempts and finished with a height of 1.76 meters.
Dendy was just 0.01 meters away from her top height of 1.77 meters, which is tied for second in the MAC and also tied for the second-best mark in program history.
Freshman Jasmijn Raes finished closely behind Dendy, as Raes finished in third place after clearing a height of 1.76 meters.
Sophomore Arianna Calloway – who entered this meet tied for fourth in the MAC in the high jump and finished second in last year’s MAC Indoor Championships – finished fourth in the high jump competition this time around. Calloway notched the top-five finish after clearing a height of 1.72 meters.
The trio of Huskies were neck-and-neck in their finishes, collectively putting up impressive performances and helping the Huskies dominate this event.
Umukoro put up another impressive performance on Saturday, finishing in seventh place in the triple jump with a score of 12.07 meters.
NIU’s 4×400-meter relay team of freshman Esther Momalife, senior Roshell Rowe, freshman Sam Huber and Shamsid-Deen helped propel the Huskies with an eighth place finish in the relay.
UP NEXT
The Huskies’ chase for a championship continues, as their next event is the NCAA Indoor Championships. This is a two-day event that will wrap up March 15 in Virginia Beach, Virgina.
Some Huskies will also kick off the outdoor season, competing at the Myrtle Beach College Challenge. The Challenge is a two-day event that will wrap up March 15 and take place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
