AUSTIN, Texas – Week 2 of the outdoor track and field season presents a quantum leap in competition for the Northwester State track and field teams in the annual trip to the prestigious Texas Relays on the campus of Texas and the nearby Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos at Texas State.
Northwestern is competing in both meets through Saturday.
The Texas Relays begin for NSU at 10 a.m. today with the finish of the decathlon and pentathlon multi-event competitions before the field events begin with the hammer throw at 11 a.m. Running events start at 4:30 p.m.
“We will get an early measuring stick on things,” Northwestern head coach Mike Heimerman said. “We love trying to compete against the best, almost week in and week out, and for the most part we get to do that. Both meets will be very loaded and it will be fun to go and see where we are at against them.”
The final two days of the Texas Relays are being broadcast on the SEC Network+ with the first day airing on the Longhorn Network.
At the Bobcat Invitational, the meet kicks off today with the women’s discus throw at 9 a.m., followed by the men. The running events start at 12:30 with the women’s 100-meter hurdles.
NSU competitors are fresh off a strong meet to begin the outdoor season at the Lurline Hamilton Invitational, which saw many athletes make their Northwestern debuts as well as many veterans posting personal bests.
One of those personal bests was set by Maygan Shaw, who seemingly sets a new personal record every single meet she competes in.
Shaw not only leads the Southland Conference in the 400-meter dash (52.33) and as a member of both the 4×100 relay (45.06) and the 4×400 (3:36.03) teams, but she also ranks third in the NCAA in the 400, seventh in the NCAA in the 4×400 and 25th in the NCAA in the 4×100 relay.
Shaw and Tranasia Jones were members of the 4×400 relay team that broke the school and SLC record in their last trip to Austin for the Texas Relays. It smashed their previous school mark with a 3:32.67 and SLC mark, which was originally set by former SLC member UT-San Antonio (3:34.05) back in 1996.
In addition to the women leading the league in both relays, the men lead the conference in the 4×400 relay and are second in the 4×100.
Galen Loyd, who takes part in the 4×400, knows how beneficial it is to compete against talented runners every day in practice.
“Training with those guys is a lot,” Loyd said. “But they keep me going. Any time I want to stop working out or if I feel like I am in a bit of pain here and there, they just remind me to keep going, and it has made me better. Iron sharpens iron and we push each other and make each other better.”
The newcomers also made their presence felt, both freshmen and transfers alike.
Kalli Knott took over right where Madison Brown left off, as the graduate transfer from UConn matched a personal best in the pole vault, clearing 12-11.5, which is not only far and away the top mark in the conference, but tied for sixth in South Central region. All of the top five in front of her are from power conference schools.
“In addition to Coach Alex (Wils), I think one of the reasons why Kalli came down here is that we have a history of good vaulters,” Heimerman said. “For her first meet to open up that high is very good and we are very pleased and hopefully she can improve and build from there.”
In addition to Shaw, Knott and the relay teams, Loyd (400), Randy Kelly (high jump), Shanice Hutson (shot put) and Teodora Samac (javelin) also rank in the top two in the conference.
SHAW WINS SLC HONOR AGAIN: Another personal best helped Maygan Shaw earn the Southland Conference Women’s Track Athlete of the Week for the second time this season, the league announced on March 26.
Shaw, a sprinter from Pineville, sparkled at LSU’s Lurline Hamilton Invitational, taking home the event crown in the 400-meter dash (52.33) and as part of the 4×400 relay (3:36.03) and finishing second as a member of the 4×100 relay team (45.06).
The other time she earned the weekly conference award this year was after the first week of the indoor season in January.
