NATCHITOCHES – Junior long jumper Emmanuel Williams, who swept the long jump and triple jump titles last week at the Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, has earned an invitation to next weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships.
Williams, a Duson native and Acadiana High School product, is the ninth-seeded competitor in the 16-man long jump field. The top eight finishers earn first-team All-America honors and those who mark in the competition but don't finish in the top eight are second-team All-America recipients from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
A career-best jump of 25-6 to win the Southland championship vaulted Williams into the NCAA field, making him the first NSU competitor since four-time All-America Stephanie Sowell in 2004 to reach the indoor national championships. The qualification standards for the indoor meet, the top 16 in each individual event and the top 12 in relays, is smaller than for the NCAA Outdoors, where the top 24 individuals in each event and the top 16 relay squads reach nationals.
"We're very proud of Emmanuel," said Northwestern coach Mike Heimerman. "We've had many qualifiers for the outdoor nationals but nobody has gotten there indoors in the past decade. It's a very high standard to achieve. He went to the conference meet determined to get over 25 feet and he nailed it, and then some."
Williams came into the Southland Championships with a 24-9 best that was top-seeded in the league and in the top 40 nationally. His career-best mark came on his fifth of six jumps in the competition.
It will be the first national meet for Williams. He was an NCAA regional qualifier outdoors last spring in the long and triple jump, and was 30th in the long jump at the East Regional. Williams earned All-Louisiana honors in both events as a sophomore.
McNeese women's weight thrower La'Shantena Rounds and Sam Houston State hurdler Sabrina Starr are the only other athletes from the Southland Conference to qualify for the meet.
ESPN3 will stream the meet live on March 14 starting at 6:55 p.m. and March 15 beginning at 6:50 p.m. A tape delay of the championship will air Saturday, March 22 starting at 5:30 on ESPNU.
More information on the meet can be found by logging on to www.ncaa.com.