Track and field has a lot of talent throughout its roster, and one of those skilled groups is the field and multi-events athletes.

Sophomore Claudette Day and senior Latesha Bigby joined the team after winter break last season. They made some of the biggest impacts on the roster despite the late start.

The mutli-event duo along with sophomore Logan Tillmon finished in the top 10 in the heptathlon during the MAC Outdoor Championships. Vince Bingham, field events assistant coach, said the trio has had a promising start to the 2014 preseason.

“They’ve been working out really hard in conditioning — Claudette, Latesha and Logan, all the three heptathletes,” Bingham said. “… We’re expecting some high expectations here.”

Day shined bright during the conference meet, claiming fourth place in the event while Tillman and Bigby placed sixth and 10th, respectively. In April, Day crushed two NIU marks. She placed second out of seven at one of the longest running relays in the nation, the Penn Relays. At the Penn Relays in the heptathlon she registered 4,829 points, a program record she broke three weeks later at the MAC Outdoor Championships.

On April 19 at the Blue Demon Invitational, Day topped NIU high jump record with a leap of 5-10.00, which also earned her a trip to the MAC Outdoor Championships and eventually a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, becoming the second athlete to do so in the 11-year tenure of head coach Connie Teaberry. Day placed 21st in the high jump at nationals.

“Everything has been going good,” Day said. “Our workouts, we’ve been pushing hard, we’ve been staying healthy as far as the multi[-eventers] and jumpers, so I think we should have a good season this year.”

Bigby was one of the most well-rounded athletes, and during the indoor season she earned 10 top-five finishes at competitions in five events. She set the NIU record in the pentathlon, finishing fourth and scoring 3,835 points at the MAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 28.

“Coach Bingham does a great job. Not only is he a phenomenal recruiter, but he’s a master at coaching the field events. That’s what he does,” Teaberry said.

In throws, sophomore Tyra Bickham and senior Sidra Sherrill will be the face of the throwing events. Last season Bickham competed in all seven meets during the indoor season and secured a spot in the shot put for the MAC Indoor Championships during the Feb. 15 Fred Wilt Boilermaker Invitational with her fifth-place toss of 44-04.00.

Sherill was one of four Huskies who qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round when she made the cut in the discus, tossing a program-best 170-00 (51.82m) on two occasions.

“Our [throwers] and our multi-event athletes have been working really hard, and we’re looking for a great season from that group, as well,” Teaberry said.