WACO, Texas – Personal records and top-10 finishes abounded for Northwestern State at the Baylor Invitational as the Demons battled the Bears, Oklahoma State, UT Arlington, North Texas, Louisiana Tech and Incarnate Word among other teams.
NSU coach Mike Heimerman said windy conditions created less-than-ideal circumstances for many events, but he’s proud of the way the Demons and Lady Demons competed against a competitive field.
“With the wind and rough lane draws, we were still able to get a lot of personal records in a variety of events,” Heimerman said. “We are still looking for certain things as coaches, but most everybody is bought in and working hard.
“We’re fairly healthy leaving this meet, and we’ll get ready for the next one next weekend.”
The Gumbs twins dominated men’s discus in NSU’s only event win as Djimon Gumbs ran away with the victory with a 181-02. Twin Diamante Gumbs (175-11) took second place and beat the remainder of the field by nine feet.
Diamante Gumbs added a fourth-place showing in the shot put with a 54-1.
“We actually didn’t look very good in the discus, and we tried to force some things and rush some things,” Heimerman said. “But the discus still went decently far despite all that. Down the road, I think they’ll throw really far.”
Kie’Ave Harry lowered his season-best 100-meter time by one-tenth of a second, clocking a 10.36 to finish third.
Four other NSU sprinters logged personal records in the 100 meters as Dylan Swain (10.51, 10th), William Glover (10.74), Galen Loyd (10.79) and Austin Simoneaux (10.80).
“Harry had a great day, even though he didn’t run a technically sound race,” Heimerman said. “The most impressive thing is he turned around and ran a personal record in the 200 because he said he needed the work.
“Dylan Swain is another guy who ran good races today.”
Destine Scott led the sprints group as he was the top Demon in the 200 and 400 meters, posting personal record times.
Scott ran a sub-21.0 in the 200, placing fifth with a 20.86.
His personal record of 46.89 claimed a sixth-place posting in the 400. Junior Charles (48.82) and Ebenezer Aggrey (49.94) also logged personal records in the 400.
“We had a lot of guys draw some bad lanes, but Destine Scott still ran a personal record out of lane three,” Heimerman said. “He was in there with a lot of guys who run 45 seconds, and they ran 46 seconds because of the conditions and he still ran a PR.
“He also ran a great 200 meter time in a bad lane.”
NSU collected a pair of third-place finishes in the men’s and women’s pole vault.
Hayden Barrios cleared 15-9 and Annemarie Broussard placed third among collegiate jumpers with a 13-3.5. Broussard’s mark matched her outdoor best.
“The wind made it tough on pole vaulters, even though they lightened up in the afternoon,” Heimerman said. “Broussard matches her outdoor record, and she made good attempts at the next bar.”
Long jumper Andrew Gilreath logged a fourth-place finish in a 22-jumper field with a personal record 23-10.25. Nikaoli Williams made the finals and placed ninth at 22-9.
The male 4×100 relay finished third with a 40.54 as the foursome of Evan Nafe, Tre’Darius Carr, Javin Arrington and Dylan Swain passed the baton.
“They didn’t have very good handoffs, so I think they could have run 39.50 with better handoffs,” Heimerman said.
Two NSU women placed in the top-10 in the 100 meters as Lynell Washington claimed sixth in the 100 with a 11.67 and Taylor Shaw came in ninth with a personal record 11.81.
Javelin thrower Ashley Duffus chunked a personal record 137-0 to finish sixth in a 20-person field.
“Ashley had a really good first throw, but she pressed a little in the later attempts,” Heimerman said. “She’s starting to get comfortable, and she’ll should have some really good marks this season.”
Rei Park threw 152-11 to place ninth in the male javelin.
In the shot put, Carnitra Mackey’s 42-7.50 placed seventh.
Janiel Moore inched closer to the minute-mark in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a 1:00.94.
“She had a phenomenal opening 400 hurdles today, and she would have come under a minute had she not broken her stride at the last hurdle with a little stumble,” Heimerman said.
Aliyah Carswell clocked a 14.20 personal record in the 100-meter hurdles to finish 10th.
Maygan Shaw added a 10th-place finish in the 400 meters, posting a 55.79.
Taylor Shaw shaved nearly a second off her 200-meter time with a 24.41 (16th).
Elyse Jacobs added a personal best in the 800, placing 11th with a 2:25.60.
PHOTO: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services.
