Rasheta Butler
Members of the Northern Illinois track and field team will compete at their first outdoor meet of the season in the Midwest Friday when they compete at the Chicagoland Intercollegiate Championships.
The meet gets under way at 1 p.m. with the hammer and javelin, while running events get under way at 2:15 p.m. on Ted Haydon Track located inside Amos Alonzo Stagg Field.
“We are excited to return to the Chicagoland Championships,” said Huskie head coach Connie Teaberry.
“For the athletes it’s exciting to compete locally where family and friend are able to support them. We will use this competition to continue to perfect our execution and technique. This will enable us to put up some competitive marks.”
The Huskies will be one of 21 teams in the field from the Chicago area.
Among the field is Division I rivals Chicago State, DePaul, UIC, Loyola and Northwestern, in addition to Division III powers North Central, Wheaton and Chicago.
NIU will be looking to keep their momentum going from last weekend when three school records fell at the Texas Relays and adidas Raleigh Relays.
Juliane Totzke set a new NIU mark in the 5,000 meters in North Carolina with a 16:57.17 run, while the 4×400 relay and the sprint medley relay teams both etched their names into the Huskie record books.
Friday will also mark the first time that NIU has competed in the Windy City’s biggest collegiate meet since 2006. That year also marks the last time the Huskies won the team title at the Chicagoland Championships, doing so with 152 points to outdistance DePaul and Wheaton.
For more information on NIU track and field and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
