Northwestern State’s track and field program is going to be well represented next week at the NCAA East First Round with nearly 30 athletes heading to regionals at the University of Kentucky, the second-most in program history.
On the men’s side, 15 Northwestern athletes ranked among the top 48 in the East Region: Will Achee, Charlie Bartholomew, Eddy Vu, Antoine Evans Jr., Keontae Gaines, Desmond Duncan, Kalen Beavers, Koen Beavers, Elijah Rowe, Kason Jones, Randy Kelly, Roy Morris, Tarajh Hudson, LaDarion Dudley and Dishaun Lamb.
There are 12 from NSU on the women’s side: Kahliyah Anderson, Margaret Conteh, Rushana Dwyer, Samari Finney, Eliska Zahradnickova, Shakera Kirk, Anisha Gibbons, Teodora Samac, Juvonna Cornette, Layden Jack, Ryah Dates and Shantangelo Williams.
Only LSU has more among programs in the state. UL-Lafayette is third with a total of 13.
The qualifying fields were set Thursday. Along with 48 qualifiers in individual events, the 24 fastest relay teams made the cut. The East Region includes all NCAA Division I programs east of the Mississippi River and those in states, except for Arkansas, bordering the west bank of the Mississippi.
The four-day meet begins Wednesday, with the men competing in preliminary heats and some field event finals, and racing finals and more field events on Friday. The women hit the track on Thursday and Saturday.
The top 12 finishers in each event in both the East and West regionals will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 10-13 at Eugene, Ore., contested at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
Achee is coming off a 45.19 in the 400-meter dash at the conference meet, which puts him tied for 10th in the NCAA East First Round list. He is joined by Bartholomew, who ran a season-best 45.65, also at the conference meet. That places him 27th on the 400 on the NCAA East First Round list.
Those two are also a part of the 4×400 relay team that is making the trip to Kentucky, along with Kason Jones and Desmond Duncan.
Their season best run came at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays, clocking a 3:04.45, which is 19th on the NCAA East list.
Kalen Beavers is also going to regionals in two events — the 100 and the 4×100 relay.
In the 100, Beavers heads to Kentucky on the strength of a 10.20 set at the first outdoor meet this season, the Louisiana Classic.
He also is going as a member of the 4×100 relay, which clocked a meet record 39.22 at the conference championships. On the relay, he is joined by Vu, Gaines, Evans and alternate Koen Beavers.
Rowe is also an alternate on the relay and is already there in the men’s long jump, thanks to his personal best in the event at the conference meet, recording a jump of 24-9.75, which is tied for 45th in the NCAA East.
Back in the regionals in the long jump is Morris, who earned a second team All-American spot a season ago. He is 23rd in the NCAA East after he posted a personal best in the conference meet this season with a 25-4 to win the gold medal.
A pair of athletes are making their fourth appearance at regionals in Kelly and Hudson.
Kelly recorded a clearance of 7-0.5 at the home meet in March and Hudson’s ranked 33 in the men’s discus with a toss of 184-2, which came at the conference meet this past weekend.
Dishaun Lamb ran a school-record 13.80 in the 110-meter hurdles to earn a spot at regionals, as he set it at the conference meet this past Saturday.
Dudley goes to Kentucky in the shot put, where he threw a 58-4.5 in the outdoor opener in the Louisiana Classic.
On the women’s side, Dwyer and Conteh made it in the 400-meter dash, with Dwyer ranking 10th in the NCAA East with a time of 51.20, which came at the conference meet.
Conteh ranked 22nd in the NCAA East in the 400, clocking a 51.92, also set at the conference meet.
They are also on the 4×400 relay team, one that also includes Anderson and Finney, as well as Jack as the alternate.
In addition to the relay, Finney is also going in the long jump, which she earned with a 20-4.25 at the SLC meet.
Fresh off her school record in the 100-meter dash, Cornette ran 11.31 at the conference meet to earn her a spot, as she is ranked 37th in the NCAA East.
Three discus throwers have reached regionals, led by Zahradnickova, who tossed a 172-10 at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Kirk posted her mark of 170-5 at the Texas A&M Alumni Muster earlier this month and Williams made her way in with a 167-8 at the Southland meet.
The women’s javelin also have multiple athletes going to Kentucky, led by Gibbons, who threw a 166-9 to place 21st in the NCAA East.
Samac, who is making her second straight appearance at regionals, ranks 35th in the NCAA East with a throw of 162-0, which she threw at the Alumni Muster.
Dates is going in the women’s shot put, punching her ticket at the conference meet with a bronze medal-toss of 50-11.