A talented freshman class has made its presence felt on the NIU women’s track and field team.

Freshman Chanelle Brown swept first place in the long jump and triple jump events Saturday at the Iowa Hawkeye Open. Brown surpassed the school record she broke in the triple jump just one week earlier, soaring 35 feet and 9.25 inches.

Newcomer Erica Smith sprinted her way to fourth and second place finishes in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, respectively. Smith also contributed to the second place finish by the 4×400-meter relay team that included teammates Ajahnae Hinley, Lorene Skipper and April Lowery.

“I knew [the freshmen] were capable of performing like this,” coach Shantel Twiggs said. “I just didn’t know how soon we were going to get to see it. These girls are preparing themselves to take this program to the next level, that championship level.”

Long distance runners Alicja Czajka, Laura Dunn and Bonnie Miller continued to set the standard for the Huskies. All three achieved personal best times in the 3,000-meter run. Czajka broke her own school record with a time of 10:00.89 and finished .07 seconds behind Tina McDowell.