DeKALB — The Track and Field team had its first meet of the new year Saturday and came out strong, finishing third among 11 schools at the Illinois Open in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.

“It feels really good to have them back on campus and back out there competing, and watching them try to execute,” Head Coach Connie Teaberry said. ”The hardest part is coming after that four week break for us, so some of it was a little sketchy looking.”

NIU placed third in 12 events with several standout performances. Junior jumper Jehvania Whyte set the new indoor school record in the triple jump at 12.25 meters.

Sophomore hurdler Remy Amarteifio met the qualifying time for the Mid-American Conference Championship in the 60-meter hurdles and placed fourth in finals.

Sophomore runner Melissa Ricci ran a 5:10.85 in the fast section of the mile and ended up placing fourth in the finals.

Senior sprinter Kedisha Dallas ran a 24.99 in the fast section of the 200-meter dash and qualified for finals, placing second.

The freshmen also had a strong showing in just their second collegiate meet. Freshman sprinter Khenadi Jones placed sixth in the 60-meter dash. Freshman sprinter Syanne Johnston also qualified for the finals and placed fifth in the 200-meter dash.

Freshman jumper Kenyae Majors qualified for the finals in long jump and 60-meter hurdles, placing fourth and seventh respectively.

Teaberry was pleased with the way her runners performed in the event, especially the freshmen.

“We had a lot of freshmen that, maybe the times weren’t exactly where they needed to be, but they showed a lot of heart today,” Teaberry said.

Teaberry highlighted that the future is bright for the freshmen.

“First it was just getting them into division one shape, and I think they handled that pretty well by the results that we had in December,” Teaberry said. “Now it’s just getting them back into shape, getting that endurance back with the distance girls, and then for the sprinters and jumpers it’s just execution and technique.”

NIU’s next meet will be Saturday as it will travel to Notre Dame for the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Indiana.