Share Tweet Share Email

Huskies open 2011 at Wisconsin Track Classic

January 13, 2011

NIU Huskies track and fieldAfter opening the 2010-11 indoor track and field schedule last month by setting two school records at the EIU Early Bird Invitational, the Huskies will return to the track for the first time in nearly a month when NIU travels to Madison, Wis., to compete Saturday, Jan. 15, in the Wisconsin Track Classic.

Hosted by Wisconsin, NIU will also face DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Marquette and UW-Milwaukee at the Wisconsin Track Classic. The Huskies will kick-off 2011 with field events beginning at 11 a.m. at the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center (“The Shell”), while running events are set to begin at 11:30 a.m. with the distance medley relay.

“This meet at Wisconsin will give us an indication of where our young ladies are,” said head NIU track and field coach Connie Teaberry. “We are glad to have the ladies back on campus and we’re ready to get back to the indoor and outdoor season. Wisconsin is a good meet to come back off of after winter break. It gives the girls a chance to see Big Ten competition, along with other schools and allows us to get right back into conditioning and competing.“

Northern Illinois is coming off a fourth-place finish at the EIU Early Bird Invitational when two Huskies set school records. In just her first collegiate meet, freshman Rachael Waldrop captured the NIU pole vault record, while sophomore Rhonda Lee tied her own school record in the 60-meter dash. Roneisha Frye and Jenner Sio also had top performances as Frye notched a first-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles before Sio claimed the long jump title.

With the four-week hiatus from competition, Teaberry feels this weekend’s competition will help prepare the team for the upcoming season.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how well they do,” said Teaberry. “We’re really proud of how the girls worked out over break. We think this will be the start of having a great indoor season.”

Following this weekend’s events the Huskies return to action Saturday, Jan. 22, when NIU travels to Normal for the Illinois State Invite.

For more information on Huskies track and field and NIU athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.