LUBBOCK, Texas—A pair of school records highlight an impressive day from Northwestern State track and field on the second and final day of the Corky Classic on Saturday afternoon.
Zachaeus Beard and Simon Wulff dominated like few others have at NSU on the final day of the tournament, posting school records in the 60 and 200-meter, respectively.
Beard earned a trip to the finals with a blistering time of 6.54 before finishing second in finals with a time of 6.61, narrowly behind the 6.60 of J.T. Smith of fellow Southland Conference member Texas A&M-Commerce.
The 6.54 time broke the school record of 6.63, held by both Ronnie Powell in 1998, and most recently, Micah Larkins in 2018.
Simon Wulff also found the record book, earning a pair of personal records, in the process. In the 200-meters, he ran a speedy 20.62 in the event, earning a second-place finish and beating his previous school record mark of 20.97. He now holds the top three indoor 200-meter marks in school history.
In the 60-meter qualifiers, his time of 6.76 finished fifth out of 96 finishers and advanced him to the semifinal. Wulff bettered that time with a 6.72 time, earning him a 12th-place finish. His previous best was 6.84 set last year at the Texas Tech Open & Multis.
Also on the track, Lynelle Washington made her presence felt as well
Destine Scott made waves in the 400-meters, clocking in at a time of 47.55, which came in sixth out of the 16 contestants.
A pair of freshmen, Korbin Shumate and John Klein, ran in the mile and finished in the top half, as Shumate (4:29.47) finished 14th out of 45 competitors and Klein (4:32.38) placed 19th. They were the two highest-finishing freshmen in the competition.
“I am very excited,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “The sprinters lit the track on fire. Simon and Zach will have top three NCAA times and both are school records. What more can you say?
“Just about every sprinter ran a personal best or had their best season opener. It should mean big things ahead for them.”
Djimon Gumbs, coming off a Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year honor, posted a 57-2.75, which he tossed in his fourth attempt, to win the shot put. He narrowly held off West Texas A&M’s Luke Holcombe, who threw a 57-0 in his final attempt of the day to earn second place.
Of the 26 finishers, the Demons had four in the top 14 in the shot put. Djimon’s twin brother Diamante Gumbs finished eighth (52-9.25), Justin Craft (49-0.25) placed 13th and Tarajh Hudson earned a new personal record (48-3.25), coming in 14th.
In the jumps, Andrew Gilreath posted a 47-5.25 on his last attempt to finish fifth in the triple jump, moving up from seventh.
Gilreath also made the final in the B Section men’s long jump, recording a 22-0.75, placing ninth in the contest, finishing slightly above teammate Randy Kelly.
Freshman Sanaria Butler continued her strong first meet, earning a trip to the final in the B Section in the women’s long jump. The Port Arthur, Texas, native, posted a jump of 18-5 in her first attempt, which earned her a trip to the final and an eighth-place finish.
Four of the five contestants NSU had in the long jump were freshman and three of them landed in the top 21 and four Lady Demons overall. Carolin Bielert (17-3.50) finished 19th and Abria Paul 17-1.50) placed 21st, joining Butler. Jaslyn Smith, a sophomore, finished 14th with a jump of 17-7.
“Overall, I am very excited with the entire team’s performance and the direction we are headed in,” Heimerman said. “I am very excited with everything, considering the travel and how little training we have gotten in since being back. It means a lot of these kids did their work over break, so hats off to the coaches, athletic trainers and especially the athletes for a great start.”
NSU is back in action Jan. 28 at the Wendy’s/Pittsburg State Invitational in Pittsburg, Kan., in the second of three indoor meets prior to the SLC Indoor Championships on Feb. 26 and 27.
Photo Credit: Southland Conference
