NATCHITOCHES -- Louisiana Class 5A state champion hurdler and triple jumper Wayne Douglas of St. Amant High School, former state champion distance runner Kirstie Jones of Evans High School and east Texas cross country and track standout Joshua Crandell of Marshall High School have signed to compete collegiately at Northwestern State.
Douglas was state runner-up in the long jump along with his two state titles at the recent LHSAA Championships in Baton Rouge. He has best marks of 48-11 in the triple jump, 23-1 in the long jump and 14.73 in the 110 meter hurdles.
"We're very pleased to bring Wayne into our program," said veteran Demons coach Leon Johnson, who has developed two of the world's best triple jumpers, USA Olympians LaMark Carter (2000) and Kenta Bell (2004, 2008). "He is going to help our team as a freshman. He is a multi-talented young man who has made tremendous progress. It's exciting to project what he can do if he improves as much next season as he has recently, and that's our goal."
Jones is a four-time state champion for the Lady Eagles. She won the state Class B 3200 meter championship as a junior and was second in the 800 and 1600 finals. As a sophomore, she swept all three races. She was fourth in the 3200 and fifth in the 1600 this spring.
Evans HS standout Kirstie Jones
She finished second at the LHSAA cross country meet hosted by Northwestern in 2007 and has been eighth three other times. Her best times are 5:30 in the mile run and 2:29 in the 800.
"Kirstie is a highly motivated, extremely disciplined student athlete, with an incredible desire to succeed. Her strong work ethic coupled with her raw talent is what has gotten her this far," said NSU head cross country and assistant track coach Haley Blount. "Not only is Kirstie a talented athlete, but she is a genuine person with a highly positive attitude. I am excited to see what Kirstie will do here at NSU with some consistent coaching and training."
Joshua Crandell signed with NSU
Crandell has a best of 4:35 in the 1600 and 1:59 in the 800, finishing second in both races at the district meet in his first full season of track competition. He was fourth in the 800 at the regional championships Wednesday.
"Joshua is an extremely outstanding student, who is nowhere near his peak as a runner. This is only Josh's second year running track and cross country, and it¹s his first full season running track," said Blount. "Josh has been accepted to the Louisiana Scholars College this fall, and will be running cross country and track for us. Josh is a great fit for our team, and may even end up being our lead runner as a freshman."