LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fifteen Northwestern State male athletes, including a pair of Southland Conference champions and two more individual school record breakers, begin competition today at the NCAA Track and Field East Region Championships at the University of Kentucky.
The 48 top marks in each individual event, and the top 24 in relays, qualified for the regional. The top 12 finishers in each event move on to the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 10-13 at Oregon.
The 15 NSU men are joined by 18 Lady Demons, giving Northwestern an entry list topped only by LSU among state schools. Louisiana Tech is third with 15 total qualifiers among the men and women combined.
Men’s competition is today and Friday. Women hit the track Thursday and Saturday. All four days are being streamed on ESPN+.
“A traveling party of 33 people going to regionals is amazing,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “The athletes are super talented, and the coaches are really talented and put the athletes in position to be successful and helped them qualify.”
Five Demons — Elijah Rowe, Keontae Gaines, Randy Kelly, Roy Morris and Tarajh Hudson — have all made the regionals while in an NSU uniform before, the latter three earned a spot previously in open events.
Will Achee, Charlie Bartholomew, Eddy Vu, Antoine Evans Jr., Desmond Duncan, Kalen Beavers, Koen Beavers, Kason Jones, LaDarion Dudley and Dishaun Lamb are all making their debuts at regionals while with NSU.
Both the field and running events for the Demons begin at 5 p.m. today with Lamb in the 110-meter hurdles and in the long jump with Morris and Rowe.
Hudson competes in the discus at noon Friday, which begins the events on day two for the men. The running events that day start at 4 p.m. with the 4×100 relay.
Morris starts the field events for NSU in the long jump Wednesday, as the sophomore aims for his second All-American honor by reaching the national meet.
He is coming off a tremendous Southland Conference Championship performance, recording a jump of personal-best 25-4 on his final jump of the meet to win the gold medal by half an inch.
“When you’re an All-American as a freshman, of course you want to make it every year, which is a very tough task,” Heimerman said. “To make it to nationals is super tough, so Roy puts a lot of pressure on himself to be an All-American again.
“He is super talented and can jump much further. He just has to allow himself to do it and stay relaxed enough to do it. There’s a fine line with every athlete — having the capability to do it and allowing yourself to do it. That is where he’s at right now. He just has to relax, and he just has to do the things that he needs to do to allow himself to be an eight-meter jumper because he is an eight-meter jumper.”
Morris ranks 23rd in the region with his 25-4 best. He was also not among the top 12 at last year’s East Regional beginning the meet, but finished there to get the opportunity to make All-America at the national championship.
Five other NSU male entries are in the top 30 regionally, led by sophomore Will Achee, who is 10th in the 400 meter dash with a 45.19 best time. Charlie Bartholomew is 27th at 45.62.
They are two of the four Demons combining to rank 19th in the 4×400 relay with a 3:04.45 time.
The NSU 4×100 relay is 26th at 39.22. High jumper Randy Kelly, who has cleared 7-0 ½, ranks 22nd regionally.
Rowe earned his spot at regionals with a personal best jump of 24-9.75 at the conference championships to finish with the bronze. It is the first of two events for Rowe, who is also a part of the 4×100 relay team.
Lamb also starts at 5 p.m. on day one in the 110-meter hurdles. He is coming off a program record run of 13.80, set at the conference meet.
“When I hear my name being a school record holder here, it means that I was able to do something since I’ve been here,” Lamb said. “I am so glad to be a part of this team and to get a record, I don’t know how to describe the feeling, but I am really happy.
“I am glad to get the opportunity to go to Kentucky. This is my first time going to regionals, so I am going to go there and enjoy it and make the most of it.”
Next up today is La’Darion Dudley in the men’s shot put at 5:30 p.m. He threw 58-4 1/2 in the outdoor opener in the Louisiana Classic to punch his ticket to Lexington.
Kalen Beavers is running in the 100-meter dash, on the strength of a 10.20 time at the Louisiana Classic.
The 400-meter dash starts at 6:25, as two Demons take part in it: Achee and Bartholomew.
The top 24 finishers in the sprints today move on to regional finals Friday.
Both relays, the high jump and discus take place on Friday.
First up is Hudson and the discus at noon. Hudson is four-year regional qualifier at regionals in the event.
The men’s track events Friday begin at 4 p.m. with the 4×100 relay.