2018 media guide northwestern state UNIVERSITY INFORMATION 2018 NSU TRACK & FIELD School Northwestern State University NSU Track Tradition 1 Location Natchitoches, Louisiana Quick Facts-Table of Contents 2 Founded 1884 as Louisiana Normal 2018 Preview 3 Enrollment 10,572 Nickname Demons/Lady Demons COACHING STAFF & ATHLETES President Dr. Chris Maggio Head Coach Mike Heimerman 6 Vice President/External Affairs Jerry Pierce Associate Head Coach Adam Pennington 8 Athletics Director Greg Burke Assistant Coach Tyron Stewart 9 Affiliation NCAA Division I Asst. Coach Chris Sauer/AT Victoria Morris 10 Conference Southland 2018 Demons Roster 11 Colors Purple & White, Orange trim Demons Profiles 12 Facility Walter P. Ledet Track Complex 2018 Lady Demons Roster 25 Lady Demons Profiles 26 TEAM INFORMATION Head Coach Mike Heimerman UNIVERSITY & ATHLETIC PERSONNEL Associate Head Coach Adam Pennington President Dr. Chris Maggio 37 Assistant Coaches Tyron Stewart Vice President Jerry Pierce 38 Chris Sauer Director of Athletics Greg Burke 39 Administrative Asst Elizabeth Holloway Athletic Administration 40 Track & Field Phone (318) 357-5252 Sports Information-Media Info 43 Athletic Trainer Victoria Morris 2017 Indoor Results Men: 5th HISTORY & RECORDS Women: 3rd Individual Conference Champions 44 2017 Outdoor Results Men: 4th Conference Results 45 Women: 3rd NCAA Division I All-Americans 46 Sports Information Director Doug Ireland NCAA Qualifiers 47 Assistant SID Jason Pugh Demon Top 5 48 Email [email protected] Lady Demon Top 5 50 SID Phone (318) 357-6467 NSU Invitational Records 52 Website www.nsudemons.com Walter P. Ledet Complex Records 53 Twitter NSUDemonsTF NSU Program Records 54 Facebook facebook.com/forkemdemons NORTHWESTERN STATE 2018 NSU T&F MEDIA GUIDE CREDITS This is NSU 54 Editor Doug Ireland Campus Life 55 Layout and Design Matt Vines and Jason Pugh Academics 56 Editorial Assistance Matt Vines, Jason Pugh, CHAMPS/Life Skills 57 Martin Seng, Bianca Stakesand Ronnette Pellegrin Photography Gary Hardamon, NSU Photographic Services 2 Facebook: Northwestern State • Twitter: @NSUDemons • #ForkEmDemons • Website: nsudemons.com 2018 media guide northwestern state track & field Demons & Lady Demons have championship aspirations The Northwestern State track and field programs remain as the Southland Conference’s top sprinter destination, but the Demons and Lady Demons are continuing to diversity in order to compete for team championships. Both team expect to contend for the league’s overall titles as NSU fields one of its deeper teams on the men’s and women’s side. LADY DEMONS Following its best-ever finish at the Southland Conference Indoors, the Northwestern State women’s track and field team expects to be even better outdoors this spring. The Lady Demons were conference runner- ups at the indoor championship. Last May, they were a close third with a program-record 133 Braneshia Payton-Howard points at the Southland Outdoors. Newcomer of the Year honor and is the reigning Southland All the Lady Demons’ core contributors from last year outdoor champion in the 400 hurdles (59.88). Her time puts return this spring. her in second in school history. She ran a leg on the 4x100 and Senior sprinter De’Shalyn Jones, who won four gold 4x400 relays that finished first in the Southland Outdoors. medals in the 100 meter dash (11.52), 200 (23.16), the 4x100 Payton-Howard finished third in the 100 hurdles at the 2017 and 4x400 relays at the Southland Outdoors, hopes to exceed outdoor championships (13.97) and also ran a leg on the her success in the podium and in the conference record 4x100 relay (45.30) that won the Southland championship books. Jones is the reigning Southland Outdoor Athlete of last May. Payton-Howard has the fourth fastest time in the the Year and Outstanding Running Events Performer, and 100 hurdles (13.51). Gordon has the second-fastest times in Individual High-Point Scorer (27.5). She owns an all-time school history in the 100 (13.38) and 400 hurdles (59.88). top-five in Southland history in the 200 dash (23.12), a mark In the relays, Payton-Howard, Jones, Styles, and Jackson that is also the fastest in school history. Jones also holds the have run the fourth and fifth best times in school history fastest time in school history in the 400 (53.61). Jones is in the 4x100, 45.30 and 45.32 respectively. Gordon, Jones, ranked fourth in the school history in the 100 (11.50). Jackson, and Style ran the second-best time in the 4x400 Of NSU’s 95 points at the Southland Indoors, 72 were (3:39.16). Gordon, Jackson, Jones, and Madison Morton ran scored in the sprints. Sophomore Natashia Jackson was 3:41.09, a time that is good for fourth in school history. the High-Point Scorer in the league with 23.5 points, while The throws have long been a strong point for NSU’s hurdler Daeshon Gordon barely missed a berth at the NCAA women. Returning in the javelin is junior Summer Thomas, Indoors. who finished fifth in the Southland Championships (130-1), Other top sprinters include freshman Deja Moore, while Cori Runnels is the reigning discus throw champion in Courtney Willis, Widline Lageroy, and hurdlers Tamara the Southland (153-11). Destiney Myers was the runner-up Style and Braneshia Payton-Howard. Moore, Lageroy, in the shot put in last year’s championship (48-10 ¼). Willis, and Jackson won the 4x400 in the Southland Indoor Quanese Jones-Young is the senior anchor of a talented Championships (3:43.89). jumps squad, posting 5-7 ¾ clearances for silver medals at Style was awarded the Southland’s 2017 Outdoor Facebook: Northwestern State • Twitter: @NSUDemons • #ForkEmDemons • Website: nsudemons.com 3 2018 media guide northwestern state DEMONS Northwestern State’s strong sprint contingent is the cornerstone of a squad that could contend for the 2018 Southland Conference Outdoor championship. It’s far fromthe only stronghold, however, for the Demons. Undoubtedly the national-class speed of 2016 All- Americans Amir James and Micah Larkins is the attention- grabbing factor when assessing the NSU roster. Senior throwers Kyrin Tucker, Cedric Paul and Marquise Foster are also key pieces for the Demons in the 2018 outdoor track and field season The trio provide coach Mike Heimerman with plenty of power in the hammer, discus and shot put, with the discus Tamara Style and hammer events not contested indoors. That, along with the Southland Indoors and last May’s Southland Outdoors the addition of the javelin throw and the 4x100 relay, also in the high jump. Jones-Young is ranked fourth in school traditional strengths for the Demons, adds firepower to a history in the high jump (5-8). squad that has been near the top of the Southland Conference In the long jump, Jasmyn Steels has made strides in standings at the 2018 indoor (third place among 12 teams) her sophomore year since finishing third in the Southland and 2017 outdoor (fourth) championships. Outdoor Championships in New Orleans last May (19-4 ¾). Nearly all of the Demons’ key competitors from last year Steels finished fourth in the long jump (19-5 ¼) and triple return this spring. jump (39-7 ¾) in the Southland Indoor Championships, The throws have long been a forte for the Demons. Paul marks that exceed her outdoor bests last year. was the 2016 Southland Outdoor winner in the shot put Jessica Coleman is a leader in the middle distances as (55-11) and last month had his third podium finish at the she had had success in both indoors and outdoors: Coleman Southland Indoor Championships in four years at NSU finished fifth in the 800 last May at the conference outdoor (2015, 2016, 2018). Paul was fourth last year in the Southland meet in 2:13.74 and took sixth indoors last month (2:16.64). Outdoors (55-¼). Erin Wrozek also has had success at that distance, taking Tucker and Foster excelled in the indoor season in the seventh at the outdoors last spring (2:15.15). weight throw and along with Paul are poised to continue The Lady Demons’ distance runners have made their assault on NSU’s records in the hammer throw. Foster, significant strides. Among those to watch are Emily Sitarz, Tucker, and Paul are ranked second (171-7 ¼), third (167-1), who improved her time in the 3000 by 15 seconds in the and fourth (147-10) in school history with marks last year. indoor season and holds the program’s fourth fastest time, Tucker is fifth in the shot put (58-2 ½), after achieving 12:26.03, in the 3000 steeplechase. Sitarz also was part of that mark in 2017. Tucker is also fifth in school history in a 4x800 relay team that in 2015 ran the fourth fastest time the discus throw (174-9), after throwing that mark in 2017. (9.55.74) in school history with Wrozek and her twin sister Tucker finished third at last May’s Southland Outdoors in the Erin. Senior Jacqueline Rushford has a top-five time in school shot (56-2 ½) and sixth in the discus (162-2). history in the 3000 steeplechase (11:47.15) and set a PR in NSU should excel in the sprints once again, and not just the Southland Indoor Championships in the 3000 (10:46.37). thanks to James and Larkins, who have been productive at the Southland championships throughout their careers. The Demons have added talented newcomers Kie’Ave Harry, Desmond Mapps, and Michael McGruder. Harry, a 4 Facebook: Northwestern State • Twitter: @NSUDemons • #ForkEmDemons • Website: nsudemons.com 2018 media guide northwestern state track & field last May (6-7). The Demons’ distance pacesetter is senior Joshua Wilkins, who had a successful indoor season, finishing third in the mile in the Southland Indoor Championships (4:18.47) and eighth in the 3000.