Despite not having an athlete win an event title or qualify for the MAC championships this weekend, there were many positives to be gained by the track and field team.

The Huskies were at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn., which were hosted by the University of Tennessee.

Megan Gregory, redshirt senior sprinter and hurdler, continued her strong outdoor season in the 100-meter hurdles with an eighth place finish of 39 at the competitive meet. Gregory’s time of 13.83 puts her in the top five in the conference standings in that event during the outdoor season. Gregory had already earned a spot at the conference championships in May in 100 hurdles.

Gregory said running well against such a good field is just another step in how she wants to end her career as a Huskie.

“It means a lot to me, to kind of be bringing my time down at this point of the season,” Gregory said. “Especially coming closer to MAC [championships], just kinda getting me to where I need to be and building my confidence for MAC.”

Six Huskies ran personal records in their respective events starting with senior sprinter Michaela Dwyer in the 100-meter hurdles. She clocked in at 15.64, which was good enough for a 34th place finish out of 39.

Junior Alexandra Rowe earned a personal record in the 100 meters with a time of 12.78, which led her to 40th place out of 46. Rowe wasn’t the top finishing Huskie in the 100 meters, as junior Brittany Smith sprinted to 24 in the event with a time of 12.19, a personal best.

In the 400 meters, Julianne Cronin, sophomore sprinter and jumper, had a career-best time of 2:16.93, finishing 25 out of 37. Fellow sprinter senior Kristal Pitts also had a personal record in the 800 meters, running 2:21.16 to place 38th out of 48.

Head coach Connie Teaberry said having so many athletes run their career-best time at a meet with some of the best runners in the nation means a lot.

“This meet is a very competitive meet and the girls that were able to set PR’s,” Teaberry said. “It shows that they had good concentration and they competed well against the teams that were there [by] continuing striving to do better than the week before.”

On Saturday, NIU’s highest finish was in the 4×100 meter relay. The team finished fifth in a field of eight. The quartet, composed of freshman Alicia Osley, redshirt senior Chanel Kellyman, Smith and Gregory, ran a time of 47.73

Success in the “Volunteer State” wasn’t just limited to the sprinters, as the Huskie distance runners continued their solid outdoor season.

Three Huskies finished in the top nine of 24 in the 5,000 meters. Junior Juliane Totzke finished third in 17:56.26. Freshman Leah Raffety rounded out the top five with her time of 18:20.83, and junior Claire McAuley finished ninth by clocking in at 18:30.92.