By JONATHON ZENK, Northwestern State Sports Information

To most people, family is a major part of their lives.

For Northwestern State sprinter Galen Loyd, it is even more important.

Loyd has seen a lot during his young life, starting with an accident that left his father in a wheelchair.

A year and a half ago, the Demon senior became a father, which has spurred Loyd to mature even more than he had already.

With his family by his side, Loyd has been healthy and proceeded to have the best season of his career.

Loyd is preparing for his final collegiate home meet, the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational on Saturday at the Walter P. Ledet Track & Field Complex. He is one of the three male competitors being honored on Senior Day in 3:45 p.m. ceremonies.

Field events begin at 10 a.m. with running starting at 1.

“My emotions are high,” he said. “I’ve been doing this since I came here and every year, I PR (achieve a personal record) on this track. This being my last year here, it kind of makes you want to cry a little bit, but I am also happy I made it to the end.”

A native of Colfax, Loyd wanted to stay close to home for his collegiate career, and he found that at Northwestern.

His family was close by and could watch him compete, which was an important factor.

“My family is very important to me,” Loyd said. “My dad was in a wreck in 2012 and ever since then he has been in a wheelchair. He still has movement and everything, but he just can’t walk. Being so close to home just allows me to take care of my parents and stay close to my sisters. Having a young daughter who also lives up here in Natchitoches is a big thing for me as well.”

That family is now more important than ever, but it played a role in him coming to Natchitoches. He saw the advantages right away of coming to a school close to home.

“It was really important to me to come to Northwestern,” he said. “Being so close to family, being around them and being able to see them now and then gives me a boost of confidence knowing that I still have them around and I am not too far away from them if I ever need them.”

Another item in Northwestern’s favor when recruiting Loyd was associate head coach Adam Pennington.

During the early stages of Pennington’s coaching career, he coached an athlete named Kartavius Hamilton at McNeese. Hamilton just happened to be the track and field coach at Grant High School, which is where Loyd attended.

With Loyd receiving guidance on where to go to school, the choice was easy for him to make, especially with his family close by.

“His coach reached out to me at the time,” Pennington said. “He was running decent enough to end up here and now he is running decent enough to make it to the first round of the national championships and hopefully keep advancing. He’s turned that corner from a high school athlete to a collegiate athlete and it has definitely helped the process having a former athlete as his high school coach.”

Pennington saw potential in Loyd and offered him a scholarship. His first few years were riddled with injuries, but Loyd is now healthy and showing the Southland Conference what he can do.

“It’s been a process for him,” Pennington said. “When he first came here as a freshman, he wasn’t heavily recruited. He came from a small school and right away he had success in the 400 but got injured shortly after his first outdoor meet his freshman year. Ever since then, he has had injuries year in and year out and was never really healthy enough to display what he was capable of.

“This year, he has finally had a healthy season and it has all kind of played out. Right before indoor conference, he had a small setback with a small injury, but then he came right back to begin the outdoor season with a personal best.”

Loyd has posted four top five finishes so far this season, already the most out of any year of his career, including a personal-best 46.94 in the 400-meter dash at the Lurline Hamilton Invitational to win the event. He ranks second in the conference in both the 400 and as part of the 4×400 relay.

Loyd has claimed three Southland Conference medals, including earning his first career gold medal as a member of the 4×400 relay team at the indoor meet last month.

He has a chance to etch his name into the school record books with a strong end to the season, leading the Demons down the stretch with only three more meets prior to the SLC Outdoor Championships, as he aims to earn his first SLC team title after watching the women claim four.

The best news of it all for him, though, is his family is able to see him go for it.

“He’s been a pleasure to work with,” Pennington said. “He is a great athlete and a great kid and has become a great leader, great man and a great father. It’s been awesome to watch him grow throughout his four years.”