Freshman Claudette Day has made a major impact in the field events for track and field less than two months after joining the NIU program.

Day, a standout track athlete and record holder at Belleville West High School, has adjusted to the college aspect of athletics just fine. She has already tied a six-year NIU record in the long jump (18-08.50).

Day said her teammates and coaching staff helped her quickly adjust to competing at the college level.

“I had support when I was in high school, but it’s crazy here,” Day said. “The coaches actually care. The trainers, they care. My teammates, they are there for me. So it’s more support than high school, and that’s making the transition here at NIU so easy for me.”

The multi-event athlete has competed in four events in four meets this season. The variation has helped her prepare for a possible opportunity to do a heptathlon at the MAC Indoor Championships Feb. 28 to March 1.

Day has four top-three finishes with NIU, including a second-place finish in the high-jump event at the Fred Wilt Boilermaker Invitational Saturday.

Day’s jump of 5-06.00 in the event wasn’t only a career best, but it also punched her a ticket to the MAC Indoor Championship.

“Qualifying for MAC was surprising for me,” Day said. “I was actually amazed with my qualifying jump because before that meet in Purdue, my confidence was going down in the high jump because I was starting to jump 5-foot-1 when I was normally jumping around 5-foot-6. Once I hit that height this weekend, it brought my confidence back up, and hopefully I can only do even better from here.”

Head coach Connie Teaberry, who participated in the 1996 Olympics Games as a high-jump athlete but is normally the sprinting coach, took a few days before the meet to go over some techniques with Day and attempt to build back up her confidence.

“I think I gave her great confidence,” Teaberry said. “Claudette is a very talented athlete. She has great focus, great determination, and every time she steps out on the track she wants to win. So she does things within the meet to put herself in contention from the beginning to the end. She put up her [personal record] in the high jump, which was a 5-foot-6, and got an automatic bid to the MAC championships.”

The field events athletes, including Day, are usually coached by first-year assistant coach Vince Bingham, who has nearly 30 years of track and field coaching experience.

“If Claudette is able to spend more time with coach Teaberry you are going to see her jumping performances take off,” Bingham said. “When all these girls pick up coach Teaberry’s attitude you are going to see a whole different aspect. She’s an Olympian, and in order to be an Olympian you have to have something special, and these girls are trying to get that.”