Track and field earns three event titles at Musco Twilight
Courtesy James Hoeck | The Daily Illini
Sophomore runner Scout Regular (left) jumps over a hurdle during the 100-meter hurdles event Saturday at the Illini Classic at Demirijan Park Stadium in Urbana, Illinois. Scout recorded a time of 14.32 seconds to take first place in the event, alongside three other NIU first-place finishes.
April 24, 2022
DeKALB — Women’s track and field earned three victories at the Musco Twilight hosted by the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.
“Another great competition for the Huskie ladies,” director of track and field Connie Teaberry said in an NIU Athletics news release. “These athletes impress me every meet with their hard work, focus and willingness to fight for every second and meter of improvement. With one more regular season competition and then the MAC championship around the corner, they must stay humble yet hungry.”
Sophomore Malia Watkins’ time of 11.55 seconds in the 100-meter dash was the fastest at the event and the second-fastest time in the Mid-American Conference. Sophomore Skylynn Blue clocked in at 11.66 seconds, which claimed fifth at the event and was third-best in the MAC.
Senior Jazmyn Smith earned top honors in the long jump with a 6.23-meter jump. Smith’s performance comes one week after setting NIU’s long jump record at the Tom Jones Memorial Invite on April 15-16.
Watkins and Smith later teamed up to serve as the middle two legs of the Huskies’ 4×100-meter relay team. Blue served as the lead runner and sophomore Scout Regular ran the last leg as the unit recorded a winning time of 45.80 seconds. Their time beat out runner-up Iowa by 1.75 seconds. It was the second-fastest time in the conference at that event.
Regular finished the 100-meter hurdles with her season-fastest time of 13.68 seconds, earning third place in the event. Regular’s time was also the third-fastest in the conference. Sophomore Kennedy Crawford earned third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.35.
NIU recorded another third place finish in the triple jump after senior Katrina Small’s second attempt measured 12.24 meters. The mark went down as the fourth-best in the MAC in the triple jump this season.
The Huskies have now garnered 13 event titles with one event left in the regular season before the MAC Outdoor Championships begin May 12 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
NIU will resume competition Thursday as the Huskies return to Iowa for the Drake Relays hosted by Drake University at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. The event will last until Saturday.