Following yet another Southland Conference women’s outdoor track and field championship, Northwestern State’s Mike Heimerman was named the All-Louisiana Co-Women’s Coach of the Year, the LSWA announced Monday.
In addition to Heimerman’s accolade, athletes in 11 individual events and all four relay teams earned slots on the All-Louisiana track and field team. The top three marks in each event are recognized, with the best mark first team, the No. 2 mark second-team, and the third-best performance earning third-team status.
NSU’s second teamers were the men’s 4×400 relay, the women’s 4×100 relay, Bruce Boon (decathlon), Samari Finney (long jump), Margaret Mannering (hammer) and Anisha Gibbons (javelin).
On the third team were the men’s 4×100 relay, women’s 4×400 relay, Dishaun Lamb (110-meter hurdles), Maxwell Gautreau (pole vault), Roy Morris (long jump), Tarajh Hudson (discus), Rushana Dwyer (400-meter dash), Ryah Dates (shot put) and Teodora Samac (javelin).
Heimerman, who shared the women’s coaching honor with LSU’s Dennis Shaver, led Northwestern to a third consecutive outdoor team title after having not won any prior to 2024. It wasn’t as much of a blowout as 2025 — when the Lady Demons dominated the field by a whopping 63 points — but they rolled to a 21.5-point victory in February.
It is the third consecutive All-Louisiana Women’s Coach of the Year for Heimerman and the second consecutive season he shares it with Shaver.
The men’s 4×400 relay continued its sensational season with this honor after earning second team All-America honors with a 16th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
That quartet of Kason Jones, Desmond Duncan, Charlie Bartholomew and Will Achee ran a school-record 3:02.73 at the NCAA East First Round to advance to nationals.
Boon earned his spot in the decathlon with 6126 points at the SLC Championships to finish 11th at the meet. This is his second All-Louisiana spot in as many seasons after garnering third team honors in 2025.
On the women’s side, the 4×100 relay also earned second team honors. Dhakiya Blake, Sileena Farrell, Juvonna Cornette and Umoibang clocked 44.84 at the Alumni Muster in College Station, Texas.
A pair of Southland gold medalists on the women’s side — Finney and Gibbons — also earned second team recognition.
Finney capped her final collegiate season with the SLC Outdoors gold in the long jump, recording a season-best jump of 20-4.25 at the conference meet.
Gibbons, a junior from Mahaicony, Guyana, recorded a season best throw of 166-9 in the javelin at the conference meet to win and become second team All-Louisiana.
Mannering, a freshman from Italy, won silver at the Southland Outdoors and received second team All-Louisiana selection with a throw of 182-9 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April.
On the All-Louisiana third team, five men and four more women earned their positions, led by Morris, who made a second consecutive trip to nationals in the men’s long jump.
Lamb wrapped up his collegiate career with a third team honor after his school-record 13.80 in the 110-meter hurdles at the conference championships to earn a silver medal.
In the men’s discus, Hudson tossed a 185-7 at the NCAA East First Round, third best among state competitors.
The Demons’ 4×100 relay team of Eddy Vu, Keontae’ Gaines, Antoine Evans Jr. and Kalen Beavers ran 39.22 at the SLC Championships to win, posting the third-fastest mark in the state this season.
Maxwell Gautreau, a sophomore pole vaulter from Lafayette, cleared a personal-best 15-7.75 at the SLC Championships that was third in the state.
On the women’s side, Dwyer’s time of 50.81 at the NCAA East First Round not only earned a trip to nationals but was third fastest in Louisiana this season.
Dwyer and Finney joined Margaret Conteh and Kahliyah Anderson on the 4×400 relay team that clocked 3:31.95 at the NCAA East First Round, third in the state.
Samac was third team after a personal best throw of 162-0 at the Alumni Muster.
Dates earned a third team All-Louisiana honor with a and a bronze at the conference meet with a toss of 50-11 in the shot put.