BATON ROUGE -- Northwestern State newcomers Justin Bilbo and Reginald Douglas posted season-best marks Friday with Bilbo making a huge improvement while punching his ticket for next weekend's Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships with a big shot put throw at the LSU Twilight Invitational.
Bilbo, a sophomore from Lake Charles-LaGrange heaved the shot 52-3 1/4, nearly 10 feet over his previous 42-11 1/2 best. The throw was the fourth-best in the SLC this season and earned him fifth in Friday's competition.
Douglas, a freshman from St. Amant High, lept 48-7 1/4, well past his previous best of 47-10. It earned him fifth Friday and also was the fifth-best jump by a conference athlete this season.
In the final chance to qualify for the conference championships next weekend, three Lady Demon sprinters narrowly fell short in the 60 meter dash. Needing a 7.90 time to qualify, Shamaigun VanBuren ran 7.91, Amanda Freeman clocked 7.96 and Angelica Kotun ran 7.98.
The Lady Demons had five top 10 finishes. Trecey Rew was third in the shot put (48-8) and Chantel Bratton was eighth (42-11 3/4), DeJon Griffin took fifth in the weight throw (53-8), Anna Forest ran ninth in the 60 meter dash (7.71) and the 4x400 relay team ran 10th in 4:00.88.
For the NSU men, hurdler P.J. Bennett resumed competition after missing a month with an injured hamstring and ran a fast 8.27 preliminary time and finished sixth in the finals at 8.86.
Joshua Commiato tied for fourth with a 6-7 clearance in the high jump. The 4x400 relay team took seventh in 3:21.63. Morgan Redmon was 10th in the shot put (49-2 1/2), well past his previous best of 47-10 and moving up a spot to seventh in the SLC standings.
The conference meet begins next Friday in Oklahoma City.
NSU women's results:
60m hurdles - Erin Knox, 31st, 9.78
60m dash - Anna Forest, 9th, 7.71; Shamaigun VanBuren, 22nd, 7.91; Jessica Tuck, 26th, 7.93; Amanda Freeman, 31st, 7.96; Angelica Kotun, 33rd, 7.98
Mile run - Karensa Ellis, 12th, 5:29.48; Allison Fontenot, 31st, 5:57.34
3000 - Kirstie Jones, 31st, 12:38.65
4x400 relay - Constance Seibles, Carmen Wallace, Jazmen Williams, Erin Knox, 10th, 4:00.88
Weight throw - DeJon Griffin, 5th, 53-8 1/2; Janae Allen, 14th, 46-10
Shot put - Trecey Rew, 3rd, 48-4; Chantel Bratton, 8th, 42-11 3/4
Long jump - Jessica Tuck, 13th, 18-0 1/2; Sarah Jones, 20th, 16-3
Men's results:
60m hurdles - P.J. Bennett, 6th, 8.27
60m dash - Justin Walker, 28th, 6.99; Quincy Davison, 60th, 7.16
Mile run - Mark Dotson, 20th, 4:43.59
3000 - Kyle Lessig, 19th, 9:37.30
4x400 relay - Michael Batts, Justin Walker, Adam Smith, Michael Green, 7th, 3:21.63; Jamie Emery, Kendal Taylor, Chris Lanier, Nick Darby, 9th, 3:23.17
Long jump - Reginald Douglas, 21st, 20-10 1/2; Rechard Llorens, 22nd, 20-8
Shot put - Justin Bilbo, 5th, 52-3 1/4; Morgan Redmon, 10th, 49-2 1/2
Triple jump - Reginald Douglas, 5th, 48-7 1/4
High jump - Joshua Commiato, 4th, 6-7