NATCHITOCHES - Limping, wincing, and wheezing Sunday, the Northwestern State Lady Demons weren't complaining on the final day of the Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and they ended the day smiling - broadly.
It wasn't a team championship trophy they joyfully passed around the awards stand at NSU's Walter P. Ledet Track Complex, but the runner-up finish marked an unprecedented level of accomplishment in the 26-year history of the program. Previously, the NSU women's best conference meet finish was third place, five times, the last 11 years ago.
Despite 26 points from meet high point scorer Trecey Rew, Northwestern still couldn't provide a serious challenge to three-time women's champion Stephen F. Austin (164 points) but the Lady Demons registered 102 and easily tucked away second place, 16 ½ ahead of third place Sam Houston and 38 in front of the next highest Louisiana school (Nicholls, seventh at 64 in the 12-team standings).
"We saw a lot of gutsy performances by this great team today and over the weekend. We had so many injuries, knick-knack things that hurt, over the last two weeks, but this team has a determination that is unparalleled," said fourth-year head coach Mike Heimerman, who has been around the NSU program as a competitor and throws coach since the mid-1990s. "There's no give-up. They're just fighters, the whole group.
"Our goal at the start of the year was to finish in the top three, but we had our eyes on this runner-up trophy. Stephen F. Austin is a great champion, and they qualified probably twice as many athletes as we did (22). They would have had to collapse, in all honesty, not to win, and that's not who they are. This is new ground for us. I couldn't be more proud to be called their head coach today."
Meanwhile, the NSU men surged Sunday to finish sixth in an 11-team field, scoring 51 points - with sophomore sprinter Justin Walker accounting for 18 1/2 with a sensational winning anchor leg in the 4x100, and two blazing runner-up finishes in the 100 (10.18) and 200 (20.64).
"Our quality kids really performed well. I am proud of how we competed today," said
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| Justin Walker about to hit the afterburners in the final meters of the 4x100 win for NSU |
iconic NSU men's coach Leon Johnson, in his 29th season. "We lost some points without (academically ineligible for postseason) Mike Green (the defending 400 meter champion and anchor of the 4x400 team), but we had some guys rise up as well as I could want. Sixth place (second among Louisiana teams), I'll take it today. We'll go to work tomorrow getting better."
Sophomore sprinter Adam Smith, overshadowed by Walker, exceeded expectations with a fourth in the 200 (20.97), fifth in the 100 (10.52) and the second leg on the winning 4x100 relay (40.57), accounting for 11 1/2 points. Sophomore Wayne Douglas was the runner-up in the triple jump (50-8) and junior P.J. Bennett took fourth in the 110 hurdles (14.46).
Walker's 200 time gave him two of the top three in school history, sandwiched around the longtime school record 20.61 in 1981 by All-American Joe Delaney. Walker broke that record with his winning 20.49 at last year's conference meet.
SFA scored the first sweep of team titles at the SLC Outdoors since 2006, with the Lumberjacks capturing an outdoor SLC crown for the first time by outpacing defending champ Texas-San Antonio 162-146.
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| Andrea Warren, Lawana Perkins in the 800 |
The Lady Demons rang up 53 points Sunday without winning an event. They notched 14 in the hammer, as Rew was second with a personal record 174-4 and fellow senior DeJon Griffin took third at 172-4. They added 11 in the 200 as Angelica Kotun (24.27) was a surprise bronze medalist (she entered the meet seeded 17th) and Constance Seibles was right behind in fourth (24.48). Ten more points came in the 800 from senior Andrea Warren, third in 2:13.47, and Lawana Perkins, whose 2:15.88 was fifth.
But it was the stirring effort in the final event, the 4x400 relay, that best told the story, said Heimerman. SFA's Stephen F. Austin's Mary Dickerson won at the wire over NSU's Consuela Lindsy, running with a painful heel bruise sustained earlier this week. She was not alone in her grit.
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| Consuela Lindsy tries to hold off SFA's Mary Dickerson in the 4x400 |
"Three of the four were hurt, and the other was sick, and they still came down within a quarter of a second to win. It was won in the last meter. What more could I ask?" said Heimerman.
"We had one goal coming into the meet, to keep some of the hardware here at home," said Rew. "It's not a first place finish, but it feels that way. It's a really nice legacy for me and the other three seniors to leave behind."
Rew and several other NSU competitors aren't done, with the NCAA East Regionals in two weeks in Bloomington, Ind., and the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., in a month.
Sunday's results and team scores from the final day of the 2011 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Northwestern State at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex:
Women
Triple Jump - 1, Ambra McCuin, Sam Houston State, 42-8 ¾ (Ledet Complex record); 2. Ernestine Cray, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 42-2 ¾; 3, Michelle Ogashi, Southeastern Louisiana, 40-3 ½; 4, Katherine Evans, Texas State, 39-10; 5, Eboni Johnson, Texas-San Antonio, 39-4 ½; 6, Kirsten Knox, Stephen F. Austin, 39-4; 7, Kelli Hermes, Stephen F. Austin, 39-3 ¼; 8, Destinee Nixon, Texas-Arlington, 39-0 ¼
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| SLC high point scorer Trecey Rew |
Hammer - 1, Katie Bragg, Texas-San Antonio,175-2; 2, Trecey Rew, Northwestern State, 174-4; 3, DeJon Griffin, Northwestern State, 172-4; 4, Taelor Wilson, Texas-San Antonio, 167-8; 5, Jiovanna Martinez, Texas State, 163-3; 6, Jessica Fekete, Southeastern Louisiana, 162-1; 7, Jenny Zoch, Sam Houston State, 160-5; 8, Christina Webb, Sam Houston State, 159-4
Pole Vault- 1, Elena Horn, Texas State, 13-3 ½ (Ledet Complex record); 2, Brittany Phantz, Southeastern Louisiana, 12-5 ½; 3, Sammy Nash, Texas-Arlington, 11-11 ¾; 4, April Benavidez, Texas-San Antonio, 11-11 ¾; 5, Macy Wade, Stephen F. Austin, 11-11 ¾; 5, Butler Colleen, Southeastern Louisiana, 11-11 ¾; 7, Shelbie Zotyka, Sam Houston State, 11-5 ¾; 8, Leslie Ables, Texas State, 11-5 ¾
4x100 - 1, Stephen F. Austin (Paige McCutcheon, Arteria Sterns, Chelsea Stephen, Mary Dickerson,) 46.06; 2, Texas-Arlington, 46.62; 3, Sam Houston State, 46.87; 4, Texas-San Antonio, 46.88; 5, Nicholls State, 46.99; 6, McNeese State, 47.39; 7, Texas State, 47.39; 8, Central Arkansas, 47.42
1500- 1, Lindsey Putman, Texas-Arlington, 4:35.37; 2, Alyssa Dooley, Sam Houston State, 4:35.73; 3, Samantha Walkow, Lamar, 4:35.87; 4, Marie Flores, Stephen F. Austin, 4:38.63; 5, Amy Talbot, McNeese State, 4:39.22; 6, Jessica Mcleod, Nicholls State, 4:40.56; 7, Sarah Kimailyo, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4:40.99; 8, Nina Herrera, Texas-San Antonio, 4:41.06
100 Hurdles- 1, Chelsea Stephen, Stephen F. Austin, 13.64; 2, Sabrina Starr, Sam Houston State, 13.77; 3, Judith Schultheis, Southeastern Louisiana, 13.93; 4, Mariah Georgetown, McNeese State, 14.07; 5, Morgan Davis, Sam Houston State, 14.26; 6, Jasmine Ellis, Central Arkansas, 14.30; 7, Pashe Moore, Sam Houston State, 14.35; 8, Amber Elkins, Texas State, 14.47
400-1, Mary Dickerson, Stephen F. Austin, 54.28; 2, DeAndrea Smith, Texas-Arlington, 55.08; 3, Quiana Griffin, Northwestern State, 55.26; 4, Lygia Foreman, Sam Houston State, 55.54; 5, Tamra Grayson, Southeastern Louisiana, 56.23; 6, Paige McCutcheon, Stephen F. Austin, 56.43; 7, Folashade George, Sam Houston State, 57.27; 8, Ayanna Magee, Sam Houston State, 57.57
100-1, Samantha Calhoun, Nicholls State, 11.60; 2, Shannon Reynolds, Texas-Arlington, 11.70; 3, Arteria Sterns, Stephen F. Austin, 11.84; 4, Courtney Miller, Texas State, 11.94; 5, Angelica Kotun, Northwestern State, 11.94; 6, Jhorden Hunter, Texas-San Antonio, 11.97; 7, Katrina Bettard, Nicholls State, 12.02; 8, Tanesha Maxwell, Central Arkansas, 12.15
800- 1, Danielle Burchett, Stephen F. Austin, 2:10.18; 2, Esther Abuto, Texas-Arlington, 2:11.53; 3, Andrea Warren, Northwestern State, 2:13.47; 4, Jennifer Carey, Texas-Arlington, 2:14.96; 5, Lawana Perkins, Northwestern State, 2:15.88; 6, Hanna Nilsson Pamgren, Lamar, 2:17.74; 7, Grace Williamson, Texas-San Antonio, 2:18.58; 8, Jackie White, Nicholls State, 2:19.32
400 Hurdles- 1, Dakota Stewart, Sam Houston State, 1:00.05; 2, Alicia Noel, Southeastern Louisiana, 1:00.46; 3, Katie Miller, Texas State, 1:0.47; 4, Judith Schulteis, Southeastern Louisiana, 1:01.19; 5, Megan Turner, Texas-Arlington, 1:01.59; 6, Jennie Thomas, Texas State, 1:02.85; 7, Tess Mullings, Southeastern Louisiana, 1:02.87; 8, Christian Donald, Stephen F. Austin, 1:03.45; 8,
200- 1, Ashley Idunoba, Lamar, 23.80; 2, Samantha Calhoun, Nicholls State, 23.81; 3, Angelica Kotun, Northwestern State, 24.27; 4, Constance Seibles, Northwestern State, 24.48; 5, Breonna Baldwin, Texas-Arlington, 24.54; 6, Courtney Miller, Texas State, 24.57; 7, Ashleigh Wells, McNeese State, 24.64; 8, DeAndrea Smith, Texas-Arlington, 24.98
5000- 1, Amy Shackleford, Stephen F. Austin, 17:13.69 (Meet record, Ledet Complex record); 2, Megan Jenkins, Stephen F. Austin, 17:29.54; 3, Lauren Smith, Stephen F. Austin, 17:33.63; 4, Samantha Walkow, Lamar, 17:40.12; 5, Julia Sambu, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 17:44.02; 6, Randi Wymer, Stephen F. Austin, 17:45.56; 7, Taylor Cloy, Lamar, 17:47.79; 8, Fionnuala Ross, McNeese State, 17:53.61
4x400 - 1, Stephen F. Austin (Paige McCutcheon, Vanessa Whitmire, Danielle Burchett, Mary Dickerson) 3:41.43; 2, Northwestern State, 3:41.54; 3, Texas-Arlington, 3:42.10; 4, Sam Houston State, 3:43.35; 5, Texas State, 3:47.01; 6, Texas-San Antonio, 3:52.90; 7, Southeastern Louisiana, 3:53.24; 8, Central Arkansas, 3:55.45
Team Scores - 1, Stephen F. Austin 164; 2, Northwestern State 102; 3, Sam Houston State 85 1/2; 4, Texas State 82; 5, Texas-Arlington 72; 6, Texas-San Antonio 67 1/2; 7, Nicholls State 64; 8, Southeastern Louisiana 52 1/2; 9, McNeese State 44; 10, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 37; 11, Lamar,31; 12, Central Arkansas 17 1/2
Individual High Point Scorers - 1, Trecey Rew, Northwestern State, 26; 2, Katherine Evans, Texas State, 23; 3, Amy Shackleford, Stephen F. Austin, 20; 4, Samantha Calhoun, Nicholls State, 19; 5, Ernestine Cray, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 18
Men
Pole Vault- 1, Colton Ross, Stephen F. Austin, 16-6 ¾; 2, Logan Cunningham, Texas State, 16-6 ¾; 2, Jeff Rodriguez, Texas-Arlington, 16-6 ¾; 4, Ryan Oakes, Sam Houston State, 16-6 ¾; 5, Kovey Simmons, Southeastern Louisiana, 16-6 ¾; 5, Landon Ferguson, Texas State, 16-6 ¾; 7, Taylor Reed, Texas-San Antonio, 16-0 ¾; 8, Kyle Kaase, Texas-San Antonio, 15-7; 8, Lance Ardoin, McNeese State, 15-7
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| Wayne Douglas |
Triple Jump - 1, Devon Bond, Texas-San Antonio, 52-6 ½; 2, Wayne Douglas, Northwestern State, 50-8; 3, Donavan Loring, Central Arkansas, 50-5 ½; 4, Karique Stephen, Sam Houston State, 50-4 ¾; 5, Michael Rheams, Southeastern Louisiana, 50-2 ½; 6, Josh Cruse, Stephen F. Austin, 49-2 ¼; 7, Jamal Peden, Stephen F. Austin, 48-9; 8, Goldstein Okafor, Texas State, 48-5 ¼
Hammer- 1, Chris Cralle, Sam Houston State, 206-8; 2, Jon Arthur, Stephen F. Austin, 194-5; 3, Phil Steinert, Texas-San Antonio, 185-11; 4, Dan Schmidt, Texas State, 180-10; 5, Kyle Bishop, Stephen F. Austin, 177-2; 6, Richard Garrett, Texas-San Antonio, 172-7; 7, Trevor Sealy, Sam Houston State, 171-3; 8, Brek Christensen, Sam Houston State, 170-6
4x100 relay - 1, Northwestern State (Raymond Hatton, Adam Smith, Karllis Perry, Justin Walker), 40.57; 2, Texas-Arlington, 40.73; 3, Stephen F. Austin, 40.73; 4, McNeese State, 41.08; 5, Texas State, 41.29; 6, Texas State, 41.29; 7, Sam Houston State, 41.52; 8, Southeastern Louisiana, 41.90
1500 - 1, Patrick Kimeli, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 3:48.41; 2, Tom Wade, Lamar, 3:49.00; 3, Joe Wade, Lamar, 3:49.47; 4, Cole Reveal, Texas-San Antonio, 3:51.03; 5, Mike Medrano, Texas-San Antonio, 3:51.56; 6, David Rooney, McNeese State, 3:51.72; 7, Heinz Schwarzkoph, Texas-Arlington, 3:52.19; 8, Joshua Sawe, McNeese State, 3:54.32
110 Hurdles - 1, Nick McCloud, Stephen F. Austin, 13.77; 2, Scottie Jones, Sam Houston State, 13.94; 3, Keyunta Hayes, Texas-San Antonio, 14.15; 4, P.J. Bennett, Northwestern State, 14.46; 5, Renan Palma, Texas-Arlington, 14.61; 6, Matthew Johnson, Sam Houston State, 14.73; 7, Demarcus Harrison, Central Arkansas, 14.75; 8, Timothy Young, Texas State, 14.76
400 - 1, Darryl Hayes, Sam Houston State, 46.49; 2, Cass Brown, Stephen F. Austin, 46.93; 3, Juan Lewis, Texas-Arlington, 47.34; 4, Marquis Sneed, Sam Houston State, 47.77; 5, Hampton Hawkins, Stephen F. Austin, 47.81; 6, Sage Raphael, Central Arkansas, 47.97; 7, Brian Helaire, Sam Houston State, 48.75; 8, Torin Crowder, Stephen F. Austin, 49.45;
100 - 1, Cordero Gray, Texas-Arlington, 10.12; 2, Justin Walker, Northwestern State, 10.18; 3, Nate Brunette, Texas-San Antonio, 10.44; 4, Clayton Vaughn, Texas-Arlington, 10.45; 5, Adam Smith, Northwestern State, 10.52; 6, Kemar Marsden, Texas-San Antonio, 10.55; 7, Henry Jordan III, Sam Houston State, 10.57; 8, Charles Jackson, McNeese State, 10.65
800 - 1, Joshua Sawe, McNeese State, 1:52.34; 2, Canel Cole, Texas-San Antonio, 1:52.73; 3, Anthony Rene, Texas-Arlington, 1:52.80; 4, Chrisshun Jamerson, Texas-San Antonio, 1:52.86; 5, Williams Taudien, Texas State, 1:53.11; 6, Seth Cunningham, Southeastern Louisiana, 1:53.31; 7, Jonus Rodriguez, Stephen F. Austin, 1:53.36; 8, Dwight Robinson, Texas-Arlington, 1:53.65
400 Hurdles - 1, Keyunta Hayes, Texas-San Antonio, 52.25; 2, Jay Newman, Sam Houston State, 52.27; 3, Dijan Johnson, Texas State, 53.24; 4, Tarvoris Mack, Southeastern Louisiana, 54.31; 5, Jamal Nash, Lamar, 54.39; 6, Matthew Viverette, Sam Houston State, 54.76; 7, Abram Taylor, Southeastern Louisiana, 58.53; 8, Josh Taylor, Stephen F. Austin, 1:10.03
200 - 1, Cordero Gray, Texas-Arlington, 20.56; 2, Justin Walker, Northwestern State, 20.64; 3, Nate Brunette, Texas-San Antonio, 20.95; 4, Adam Smith, Northwestern State, 20.97; 5, Darryl Hayes, Sam Houston State, 21.33; 6, Clayton Vaughn, Texas-Arlington, 21.37; 7, Edric Williams, Stephen F. Austin, 21.48; 8, Nick McCloud, Stephen F. Austin, 21.50
5000- 1, Jarrett LeBlanc, McNeese State, 14:55.30; 2, Brandon Chiuminetta, Texas-San Antonio, 14:55.41; 3, Xavier Rodriguez, Stephen F. Austin, 14:58.37; 4, David Rooney, McNeese State, 14:58.37; 5, Dennis Yeats, Stephen F. Austin, 15:01.26; 6, Patrick Kimeli, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 15:04.64; 7, Arisel Perez, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 15:04.86; 8, Cody Widener, Texas-Arlington, 15:08.85
4x400- 1, Sam Houston State (Marquis Sneed, Brian Helaire, Rodney Jones, Darryl Hayes) 3:09.97; 2, Stephen F. Austin, 3:11.46; 3, Texas-Arlington, 3:14.38; 4, Texas-San Antonio, 3:15.37; 5, Texas State, 3:15.52; 6, Southeastern Louisiana, 3:15.73; 7, Northwestern State, 3:16.09; 8, McNeese State, 3:19.25
Team Scores - 1, Stephen F. Austin 162; 2, Texas-San Antonio 146; 3, Texas-Arlington 127 ½; 4, Sam Houston State 113; 5, McNeese State 61 ½; 6, Northwestern State 51; 7, Texas State 45 ½; 8, Southeastern Louisiana 41 ½; 9, Central Arkansas 26; 10, Lamar 23; 11, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 22
Individual High Point Scorers - 1, Cordero Gray, Texas-Arlington, 22; 2, Xavier Rodriguez, Stephen F. Austin, 22; 3, Jarrett LeBlanc, McNeese State, 20; 4, Richard Garrett, Texas-San Antonio, 19; 5, Justin Walker, Northwestern State, 18 1/2