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NATCHITOCHES -- Northwestern State competitors Chad Leath, Dawn Comeaux and Trecey Rew reached NCAA regional qualifying standards Saturday as eight collegiate teams opened the outdoor track and field season in the NSU Relays at the Walter Ledet Track Complex. Southeastern Louisiana, with four winning marks in men's events, and Louisiana-Monroe, which won four women's competitions, each had six wins overall in the meet. Northwestern won four women's events among its five overall victories while Stephen F. Austin had three men's wins in its total five first places and Grambing won three women's contests in its combined five wins. McNeese State had three men's wins among its total of four first-places, while Southern won two men's events and one women's contest. There was no team scoring. Leath, a senior, won the men's 400 meter hurdles in 52.19 to once again reach the NCAA standard in that event, for the third straight year. Comeaux, also a senior, earned her third NCAA regional trip in the javelin with a 164-3 winning mark. Rew, a sophomore, took the women's shot put with a 47-7 throw, but had a huge warmup throw of 51-2 that would have shattered her school record by well over a foot. Shannon Foley gave the Lady Demons a win in the 400 hurdles, making her debut in the event with a 1:05.38 time. Teammate Brittany Culotta, also making her first competitive effort in the race, ran third in 1:08.75. The other first place performance from Northwestern game in the women's 4x100 meter relay, with the foursome of Whitney Smith, Anna Forest, Jessica Tuck and Jazmen Williams clocking a 46.92 time. Second-place showings by NSU competitors: Daniel Yarbrough, 177-9 in the hammer throw; Rew, 147-10 in the discus; Leath with a 14.43 time in the men's 110 meter hurdles; the Lady Demons' 4x200 meter relay team; and the Demons' 4x400 relay team (3:16.33). Taking third for Northwestern, along with Culotta, were DeJon Griffin in the women's hammer (158-5); the men's 4x200 relay (1:28.64), the men's 4x100 relay (41.67) and the men's sprint medley relay (3:31.02). Mindy Toney was fifth for the Lady Demons in the hammer (153-7) and Griffin was fifth in the women's discus (131-3). Samuel Norton took sixth for NSU in the men's javelin (187-10). |