Track and field split into two groups this weekend and ended the time away from home with several personal best performances.

NIU had success in both meets as 19 athletes had top 10 finishes. Ten set personal records.

Between the two competitions, six athletes hit qualifying marks in their respective events for the MAC Indoor Conference Championships.

The distance Huskies started things off on the right foot Friday at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet in Allendale, Mich.

Junior Meghan Heuer set a school record in the mile run, beating a record set 11 years ago by Alicja Czajka. Heuer’s time of 4:54.18 placed her in fourth place out of 59 runners. She beat her old best by nearly six seconds and became a MAC indoor qualifier with her time in the event.

Sophomores Ali Olson and Hannah Savage both had personal records in the mile run, as well.

Olson beat her personal record by five seconds with a run of 4:57.09 to place 13 out of 59. Savage placed 21st, clocking in at 5:01.82, besting her previous career-best of 5:14.15.

Like Heuer, Olson also hit the MAC qualifying mark for the indoor championships.

“This was an exciting day for our middle distance group,” assistant coach Greg Hipp said in a news release. “I’m really proud of how Meghan, Ali and Hannah executed their races. Meghan’s school record puts her ahead of the greatest distance runner in NIU history. I know she has her eye on a few more records and now she has the confidence to go after them.”

On the second day of the GVSU Big Meet, Heuer won the 800-meter run out of the 70 participations in the race with a time of 2:12.78.

The rest of track and field were in West Lafayette, Ind., for Purdue University’s Fred Wilk Boilermaker Invitational Saturday.

Sophomore Claudette Day placed second out of 12 in the high jump with a career-best jump of 5-06.00. Coming off a record-tying long jump on Feb. 1, she took fourth out of 17 in the long jump at 18.07.25.

Latesha Bigby tied for third in the high jump at 5-02.25. Her season-low time of 8.70 in the 60 hurdles prelims got her a seventh in the finals at 8.72. With her performance in the hurdles she is also a MAC qualifier.

Freshman A’Iesha Irvin-Muhammad had yet another top five finish on the season as she took fifth out of 22 in the 60 meters. During the prelims she ran a 7.76, and she improved upon that in the finals with a 7.72.

“This was a weekend that the coaching staff was able to enjoy the meets,” said head coach Connie Teaberry. “We’ve had great leadership this year, and over the weekend the young girls stepped up. They are not freshmen anymore as far as on the track, and they were able to produce. We had a lot of [personal records], and several MAC qualifying marks that the ladies were able to accomplish.”