JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Northwestern State’s sensational senior sprinter Maygan Shaw earned her way to her second straight NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in her signature event, the 400-meter dash, clocking a 51.68 to place third in her heat and eighth overall Saturday on the final day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round to grab an automatic trip to Eugene, Ore., for the national meet.
“Maygan ran great,” NSU associate head coach Adam Pennington said. “Today was a huge challenge for her and she handled it well. We can still run a much better race, so we are excited about that going into Eugene.”
It was a stout field of 24 national quarterfinalists aiming to be among the East’s top 12 advancing to the semifinals in Oregon. The only faster runners than Shaw on Saturday represented Georgia (two qualifiers), LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Joining Shaw in Oregon is surprising freshmen men’s long jumper Roy Morris, who was ninth in his specialty last Wednesday at the East regionals.
It is Shaw’s second consecutive trip to nationals after making it in 2024 as a member of the 4×400 relay team, which earned her a spot as a second team All-American.
Shaw nearly made it again as a part of the 4×400 relay team, but the Lady Demons just missed out with a 13th-place finish.
The group clocked its best time of the season with a time of 3:31.79, edging its previous season best of 3:31.82, and best since the school record time of 3:29.22 set at last season’s regionals.
“Being 13th is really tough,” Pennington said. “They ran a season best and it still wasn’t enough. In the West region, our time would have been eighth overall and (in the West region) 3:34.4 made it in. So, I know we belong there (among the top 24 in Eugene) and that’s the hardest part to swallow for this group. They fought really hard out of a tough lane and gave everything they had. We are proud of them.”
Harvard was the only non-power school ahead of NSU in the 4×400, as six of the East schools that made it to nationals hail from the SEC, including Georgia, whose 3:25.80 set a new facility record.
To begin the day, Shakera Kirk finished 36th in the discus with a throw of 154-5. She tried for the big throw because she knew she needed it to advance to Eugene, but two of her throws were fouls and didn’t count.
“She warmed up well and the two throws that fouls were pretty deep,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “We knew we had to throw something really far, so we went after it. I’m very happy with her effort.”
Shortly after Kirk competed, Jaslyn Smith made her East regional debut in the triple jump in her senior season.
Like Kirk, Smith knew she had to have a far distance in order to advance. In Smith’s case, it was a jump, as she placed 45th with a 39-8.5. She took chances in order to jump as far as possible but ultimately fouled twice.
“Today was one of those days where the foul board just wasn’t our friend, sadly,” jumps coach Alex Wills said. “She put a great jump out there on her second attempt and unfortunately, we just didn’t get a green light. Still, I am very proud of this young lady and will really miss her very much next year.”
