Track and field notched its fourth MAC qualifying mark of the outdoor season during this weekend’s Big Blue Classic, hosted by Eastern Illinois in Charleston.

The Huskies only had their distance athletes participating in the meet, but NIU made the best out of the opportunity, finishing with two top-three finishes.

“Meghan [Heuer] and Ali [Olson] lead us for sure with their performances in the 800 and the steeplechase,” said distance coach Greg Hipp. “They certainly set the tone for yesterday.”

Junior Meghan Heuer continued her record-breaking season with third place out of 47 finishers in the 800-meters. She finished the middle distance race with a 2:11.21. Her time qualified her for the MAC Outdoor Championships; it is the Huskies’ fourth automatic qualifier this season.

In her first competition of the track season, junior Jamie Burr completed the 800 with a 2:20.73, which was good enough for 23rd out of 47 finishes.

The Huskies participated in the 3,000-meter steeple chase for the first time this season; sophomore Ali Olson crossed the tape at 11:02.26, for a second out of 12th place finish. Freshman Carly Pederson also made her debut in the event, posting a time of 11:53.45, which was good for 10th out of 12th.

“It was a good start for [Olson] in the steeplechase,” Hipp said “She was certainly nervous about it being a very new and unique event for her, but she felt good about it afterwards, and she has the potential to get a pretty meaningful result in that event down the road.”

In the 1,500-meters, sophomore Hannah Savage was the top NIU finisher, running a 4:43.61 en route to a 14th out of 50 in the event. Senior Claire McAuley finished the race in 4:50.69 to claim 22nd out of 50.

Hipp said he did not have his 5,000-meter specialists Juliane Totzke and Leah Raffety make the trip, as they rested for next week’s Chicagoland Championships, held in Romeoville.

“Typically when the kids run the longer races, we don’t have them go back-to-back weeks if the schedule allows,” Hipp said.