Northern Illinois head track and field coach Connie Teaberry announced the addition of the three student athletes to the 2010-11 track and field roster, Friday. Kelsi Frank, Erica Miller and Claire McAuley have each signed a National Letter of Intent to continue their athletic and academic careers at Northern Illinois.
“We’ve signed three young ladies to help aid us in the 2010-11 season,” said Teaberry. “Erica, Kelsi and Claire will help us fill huge voids in our cross country and track programs. We are lucky to have each of these girls aboard our team and we welcome them as Huskies.”
Frank, a Springfield native (Sacred Heart-Griffin), is an all-conference first team selection and has also garnered all-state and all-star games honors during her career in cross country and track & field. The four-year letterwinnner holds both the school record and Central State Eight Conference record in the 3200-meter relay and is a member of the 2007 and 2008 IHSA 2A State Champion cross country team.
“Kelsi will join us as an 800-meter and 1500-meter runner,” said Teaberry. “She will help lead Courtney (Oldenburg), Amanda (Trancoso) and Sunsea (Shaw) to faster times by coming in and helping them push each other to run faster and race harder.”
McAuley joined the NIU squad as a middle distance runner. McAuley, who will join NIU all the way from the United Kingdom, was named the Under-17 Female Athlete of the Year in 2007. She holds both the Giffnock North Club record in the 1,500-meter run (4:41.42) and the 3,000-meter run (10:17.20). Most recently, McAuley raced to gold in the 1500-meter run at the 2009 Scottish Indoor Championships.
“Both Kelsi and Claire will run with the cross country team,” said Teaberry. “Claire is more of a 1500-meter, 3000-meter and 5000-meter runner and she will come in and able to compete with the distance runners during the track season.”
Miller will join Frank as a fellow Illinois native. Miller, who also runs with the Aurora Flyers track club, has qualified for state in each of her first three years at Geneva High School. In Miller’s most recent trip to the state championships she was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team took home fourth place and the 4x800-meter relay team that walked away with a sixth-place finish.
“Erica runs the 200-meter and 400-meter events,” Teaberry said. “We are losing Brittany Houghton and Rochelle Muskeyvalley next year and Erica will be able to come in and run the same times that they are running. She will help us fill a great void in our 4x400 relay and our open 200-meter and 400-meter events.”
The Northern Illinois track and field team will continue its indoor season this weekend when the Huskies take on some of the nation's top track and field athletes at the Iowa State Classic at the Lied Recreation Center in Ames, Iowa, Friday Feb. 12 and Saturday Feb. 13. The Huskies will then head to the Ball State Quadrangular, Feb. 19, for a final tune-up before the Mid-American Conference Championships
