NSU
The Northwestern State track and field teams, despite resting several of their top performers Friday at the LSU Twilight meet, still came away with three event wins and had 11 athletes claiming medals in the final regular season competition of the indoor season.
While star jumpers such as Jasmyn Steels and Ceaser Stephens resting for the Southland Conference Championships on Feb. 24-25, All-American sprinters Micah Larkins and Kie’Ave Harry were in peak form. Larkins outmatched everyone in the men’s 60 meter finals with a 6.66 clocking. LSU’s Akanni Hislop also ran a 6.66 but was edged out by 0.004. Harry came in fourth with a 6.72, narrowly setting a new personal record by 0.01.
Head coach Mike Heimerman says he was pleased with the results and is very excited for the conference meet.
“Almost everyone did great. I really like where everyone is at one week out from conference,” said Heimerman. “We worked all of them hard this past week and I’m glad with how they responded. We will be backing off them this week to get them ready for Sunday and Monday. These kids are ready to go to war next week and I’m ready to go with them.”
The women’s 4×400 relay team of Courtney Willis, Natashia Jackson, Kimani Evans, and Diana Granados scorched the competition with a gold medal finish time of 3:48.44, nearly five seconds faster than the runner-up squad from Southeastern Louisiana.
The distance group also tasted gold for the first time all season through the men’s distance medley relay. The team of Thomas Daigle, Jalen Hewitt, Darius Groves, and Yannik Gerland ran a 10:36.43 in their first NSU career appearances in the event.
Annemarie Broussard had a groundbreaking day, jumping a new PR at 13-0 ¼ in the women’s pole vault to claim silver. The freshman becomes the second Lady Demon to ever exceed 13 feet, behind only her teammate and school record holder, Reagan Darbonne.
Fellow freshman Marco Arevalo led all Demons in the throws department with a new PR of 52-7 ½ in the shot put, also good for second place.
Brooke Petkovich competed in both the triple jump (37-8 ¾) and long jump (18-3 ¾), taking third and fifth respectively. Her long jump performance bettered her previous indoor personal record of 18-1 that she posted at last year’s SLC Indoor Championship.
On the men’s side of the triple jump, Jacorious Jeter turned in a new indoor PR at 47-9 to claim third.
Kristin McDuffie notched a new career-best 50-1 ¾ for third in the women’s weight throw.
