COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Following a successful meet at the LSU Alumni Gold, the Northwestern State track and field teams travel to Texas A&M for the Aggies’ Alumni Muster, NSU’s last competition before the Southland Conference Championships in mid-May.
The men’s discus starts the meet at 4 p.m. today, while the women’s hammer is first Saturday at 10 a.m. with the track events beginning at 2:15 with the women’s 4×100 relay.
“It’s another two-day meet since we have a three-day meet at conference,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “We’re looking forward to taking advantage of some decent weather since the weather hasn’t been great here the past few days. But it should move out so we can have a good day on Saturday and take advantage of some decent winds. We’re going there to learn how to continue to be better each day and set us up for conference and hopefully regionals
Twenty teams are attending the meet, as NSU is joined by teams such as Baylor, Iowa State, Penn State, Oklahoma State and homestanding Texas A&M, as well as fellow Southland members Houston Christian, Lamar, McNeese, Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The sprinters are hitting their stride as the season winds down.
Will Achee, the SLC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week, is coming off an historic performance at the LSU Alumni Gold last time out, clocking a 45.81 in the 400 meter dash, breaking a school record that had stood for 50 years.
He also contributed to a 3:04.93 as a part of the 4×400 relay team, which leads the conference.
Achee was one of three NSU athletes honored by the Southland this week as athletes of the week, as he was joined by fellow sprinter Rushana Dwyer, who was named the SLC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, and Tarajh Hudson, who was named Men’s Field Athlete of the Week.
“Will just keeps working and following Coach Adam’s (Pennington) plan,” Heimerman said. “As long as he keeps following the plan, everything will work out. He’s going to have to watch out because his teammate is right on his heels. Charlie (Bartholomnew) is going to be pushing him, and he can’t take any time off because Charlie wants that school record too.
“That has really helped them to have a great depth chart in the 400. Desmond Duncan is right there too, and they all push each other every day.”
Like Achee, Dwyer excels at the 400, and she ran a season-best 51.44 to win the event at LSU and maintain the lead in the conference.
She also runs on the women’s 4×400, which ran an impressive 3:32.23. That mark now leads the Southland, beating its own season best. That mark is more than six and a half seconds faster than second place in the conference.
Hudson earned his second weekly award in as many weeks after a toss of 177-3 in the men’s discus, which is one of the best throws of the season.
Building off his strong freshman season in which he earned an All-American spot, jumper Roy Morris has continued a strong sophomore campaign.
After missing the podium at last year’s outdoor conference championship meet, Morris is striving to not let that happen again this time around.
“Since getting fourth last year, I bounced back with the gold in indoor this year,” Morris said. “It’s driven me because I know that if I can get gold in indoor, I know I can in outdoor as well. I take everything day-by-day and step-by-step and not look ahead too far.”
NSU heads to the conference championships on the campus of Stephen F. Austin, beginning May 14. The women aim to make it three outdoor team titles in a row.
