BATON ROUGE - Freshman thrower Kerri Simmons turned in a new school record in the shot put, junior sprinter Samantha Calhoun advanced to the finals of a highly-competitive 60 m field and the Colonel 4x400 m relay crew turned in a season-best time as the Nicholls State University women's track and field team concluded its final meet prior to the 2011 Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at the LSU Twilight on Friday night.

In their final competition before their most important meet of the indoor season, the Colonels turned in several highlight performances on Friday night.  Simmons led the way by turning in a school record in the indoor shot put with a toss of 13.55 m (44 ft., 6 in.), a throw that finished third on the day, bettered the previous school record by six inches and ranks seventh in the conference this season.

Calhoun continued a strong indoor season, advancing to the finals of a crowded 60 m field and finishing fifth with a time of 7.58, just 0:00.01 off her season best.  The Morgan City native wasn't the only Nicholls sprinter to turn in a banner day as the Colonel quartet of Tricia Carriere, Barlitra Dirance, Jonae McAllister and Naomi Green clocked in with a season best time of 3:58.86 in the 4x400 m relay.

The Colonels finished the day with a strong showing in the mile as Jessica McLeod, Lauren Jones and Emily Charlesworth all finished among the top five collegiate competitors.

Nicholls will conclude the 2011 indoor campaign Feb. 25-27 at the 2011 Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.