JOPLIN, Missouri – Eight first place finishes, including event sweeps in the triple jump by Sarah Jones and Reginald Douglas, led Northwestern State in the final day of the Missouri Southern Lion Indoor Invite here Saturday afternoon.
In addition to the first place finishes, the Demons and Lady Demons tallied up 21 other finishes from second to fifth place.
Douglas won the men’s triple jump with a 48-06 leap while Jones took the title in the women’s event with a 36-11, edging out teammate Jerrica Tillery who placed second with a 36-09.5 mark.
Jones added to her successful day with a second place finish in the long jump with a leap of 18-07, and then tied for third with teammate Keyera Thomas in the high jump with a clearing of 5-01.75.
Also on the women’s side, Quiana Griffin won the 200 meter dash with a time of 25.26 and followed that with a first place finish in the 400 meters at 57.83, nearly an entire second faster than the second place finisher.
Lawana Perkins had two first place finishes – a 2:18.22 clocking in the 800 meters as she wiped out the field with a four-and-a-half second margin. She was also a member of the distance medley relay team that took first with a time of 12:56.39.
The Lady Demons’ other first place finisher came from Keona Jackson in the weight throw where she had a 54-09.5 mark. Chantel Bratton placed third in the event with a 53-11 toss.
On the men’s side, Raymond Hatton placed first in the 60 meter dash (6.93) and was second in the 200 meters (22.04).
D.J. Beyette was the top collegian in the 800 meters at 1:56.52 and the 4x400 meter relay team consisting of Travis Plumb, Keenan Jackson, Kendal Taylor, and Beyette, ran away with the title with a 3:22.24 time – four seconds faster than the second place finisher.
Taylor took the gold in the 200 meters with a 22.04 time, edging out second place Hatton while Jarrod Charles finished second in the 400 meters at 51.35 followed by Jackson at 51.52.
And in the 5000 meters, Mark Dotson finished fourth with a time of 15:46.03.
Both the Demons and Lady Demons will return to action next weekend when they take part in the Jeff Davis Bank McNeese Indoor II meet.