Two Northwestern State freshmen, Lawrence Jackson in the 800 meters and Emmanuel Williams in the long and triple jumps, have qualified for next weekend’s 2012 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Bloomington, Indiana.

The country’s best high school standouts and college freshmen will compete for national honors and spots on Team USA for the World Junior Championships July 10-15 in Barcelona, Spain. Competition begins Friday, June 15 and wraps up two days later.

The two young Demons hope to join some predecessors who have shined at the junior nationals. NSU competitors won back-to-back USA Juniors titles in 1999 (Latrell Frederick in the javelin) and 2000 (Robert Etheridge in the long jump). Cody Fillinich was the 2005 javelin runner-up and all three qualified for international competition.

Jackson posted a 1:51.13, just 0.02 away from third place, at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships last month. His fourth place finish was 18 spots better than his seeding. He was a standout 400 meter sprinter at Houston-Hastings High, finishing fifth in the Texas state championships.

Williams had two personal records at the conference meet, going 48-11 ∏ for seventh in the triple jump a day after he sailed 23-10 for a ninth-place finish in the long jump. The Duson-Acadiana product played on the Rams’ state championship football team and was fifth in Class 5A in the triple jump last spring.