Track and field takes 3rd at Lee Calhoun Memorial

By Sean Anderson

NIU track and field finished out its weekend at the Lee Calhoun Memorial Invitational by taking third place.

The Huskies won four events on Saturday, which propelled them to finish with 126 team points. Marquette won the meet with 202 points, while host Western Illinois was runner-up with 165.5 points. The Huskies finished third without running any events Friday.

Connie Teaberry, NIU Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, said she was very pleased with her team placing third, especially after Friday, when it was in ninth place and wasn’t running all of its runners.

“With the amount of ladies we took to this competition, I think they did a great job stepping up in certain areas,” Teaberry said. “We compete in any of the running events that were held Friday. Going from ninth place to third, I think they did a really good job.”

Junior Janay Mitchell lead the way for the Huskies with two first-place finishes in the 100 and 200 meter dash. Senior Rasheta Butler would go on to finish second in the 100 and 200 meter.

“I didn’t really do anything different in practice than last week,” Mitchell said. “I felt better warming up there on Saturday, and I really got loose before my first race.”

In the 400 meter race, NIU’s Chanel Kellyman and Rebecca Cronin finished second and third. Kellyman beat her personal record with a 56.54 run.

In the hurdles, Frye went on to win the 100 meter event with a time of 14.18. While in the 400 hurdles NIU, finished second and third thanks to Erin Milner and Jenelle McCalla. The Huskies’ duo was a part of the 4×400 meter relay alongside Cronin and Erica Miller which took a first place finish.

Teaberry said the reason why NIU didn’t bring all of its roster to the meet was for its next meet.

“We didn’t take everyone basically for training and the distance ladies are getting ready for next weekend,” Teaberry said. “We have two events that are next week, so we want them prepared for that.”