Track and field returned to the track by competing in the Big Meet at Grand Valley State University after a week off.

In the two-day competition, 11 Huskies registered top 10 finishes at the meet. The team was led bed by seniors Megan Gregory and Janay Mitchell, who were two of the three Huskies with top 10 finishes Friday. The finishes earned Gregory and Mitchell trips to the MAC indoor track and field championships on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23.

Mitchell placed seventh in the invitational portion’s 60 meters with a time of 7.63 seconds, which is in the fifth quickest time put up by a MAC runner this indoor season.

Mitchell said qualifying for the MAC indoors means a lot because it’s been a tough season for her, as she’s had to deal with an injury.

“It means a lot because this is like my last indoor season as a senior and so I was injured prior to this meet for about six to seven weeks,” Mitchell said. “So to come back and qualify for this meet means a lot. I just hope that when I get there I can do great things as well, just like I did this past weekend.”

Gregory qualified for the MAC indoor conference championships with her run in the prelims of the 60 meter hurdles of 8.65, which ranks seventh in the conference. Gregory ran a slower time in the finals, going 8.69 and finishing seventh in the event.

Gregory said that over the next two weeks, she has to continue to work hard if she wants to maybe come away with the conference title.

“I think its all about kind of staying calm and not making myself panic just because I know it’s coming,” Gregory said. “Just kind of keep doing what I’m doing and you know execute practices with precision to make sure I stay on the right track.”

Sophomore Sidra Sherrill was the only other NIU athlete to finish in the top 10 an event on Friday. She had an eighth-place finish in the shot put, 44-00.00

On Saturday, Mitchell and Gregory continued their solid weekends with more top 10 finishes. Mitchell finished sixth in the 200 meters, clocking in at 25.40, and Gregory placed seventh in the 60 meters during Saturday’s open half of the meet with a time of 7.96. Fellow Huskies teammate junior Natalie Tarter finished eighth in the open portions 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.24.

The top finisher for NIU on Saturday was sophomore Jamie Burr, who took third in 800 meter with a new personal best time of 2:14.80

Head Coach Connie Teaberry said there is always room for improvement as the season goes on, and despite the team’s good performances she thinks there are things they can do even better.

“We want to continue to improve on our strength,” Teaberry said. “We wanna continue to improve on our mental preparation. We wanna continue to improve on our work ethic and ultimately our confidence. The girls need to continue to believe in themselves and [the] work that they’ve done all week and let it shine when it comes to competition.”