Eight Northwestern State individual track and field competitors as well as a pair of relay teams have qualified for the NCAA East regionals next week on the campus of North Florida in Jacksonville.

Individuals who posted one of the East region’s 48 best marks this spring advance to what amounts to the NCAA quarterfinals. In relay events, the top 24 times earn spots. At the regional championship, the top 12 in each event move on to the NCAA Outdoors in early June in Eugene, Ore., coupled with the top dozen in each event advancing from the NCAA West Preliminary Round in College Station.

The NCAA East region includes athletes from Division I programs competing in conferences headquartered in general, east of the Mississippi River, with some exceptions including the Louisiana members of the Southland Conference and SWAC. Major leagues include the SEC, Big Ten and ACC sending standouts to Jacksonville.

The four-day meet begins Wednesday, with the men competing on Wednesday and Friday and the women on Thursday and Saturday.

The recently crowned Southland champion NSU women will be represented at the NCAA East Preliminary Round by  Maygan Shaw (400-meter dash), Samari Finney (long jump), Jaslyn Smith (triple jump), Shakera Williams (shot put), Shakera Kirk (discus) and Teodora Samac (javelin). The Demons have two male qualifiers, Randy Kelly (high jump) and Roy Morris (long jump).

Both genders are sending a relay team. The NSU men’s 4×100 team is going, as is the women’s 4×400 team.

Shaw and Kelly are each headed to the East regional for the third consecutive season.

As a part of the 4×400 relay team last season, Shaw ran to a second team All-American spot. All three seasons, Shaw has made regionals in both the 400 and 4×400.

She is coming off a 25-point performance at the Southland Conference Championships, earning four gold medals.

For an extended breakdown of the Northwestern qualifiers, visit NSUDemons.com.