JOPLIN, Mo. – The Northwestern State men's and women's track and field teams completed day two of the Missouri Southern Lion Open on Saturday with a total of three first place and 11 top three finishes.
Senior thrower Janae Allen placed first and broke her personal record for the third consecutive week with a mark of 47-10.00, more than half a foot further than her previous best of 47-03.75. The new mark puts Allen at No. 5 on the Lady Demon top five shot put performers list.
Quiana Griffin grabbed a first place finish in the 400m dash with a time of 57.85 and Wayne Douglas took first in the triple jump with a season-best leap of 49-08.50.
The Lady Demons had six other top-three performers throughout the day. Keona Jackson placed second in the shot put with a personal-best mark of 47-03.50 while Jerrica Tillery (37-11.25) and Sarah Jones (37-04.50) took second and third in the triple jump, respectively.
Jones also placed third in the high jump at a height of 5-01.75.
Constance Seibles (400m, 59.09) and Karensa Ellis (800m, 2:17.18) registered second place finishes as well.
On the men's side Emmanuel Williams placed third in the triple jump, recording a distance of 47-07.00, and Keenan Jackson took second in the 400m with a time of 50.93.
Freshman Lionel Ellison recorded his best performance yet, placing fourth in the high jump with a mark of 6-06.75 while fellow Demons Alex Washington (6-02.75) and Quinton Helaire (6-02.75) grabbed the fifth and sixth spots, respectively.
The men's 4x400 relay team of Dezrick Williams, Lawrence Jackson, Austin McCauslin and Keenan Jackson also saw improvement, running their season-best time of 3:25.24 and finishing fourth.
Both NSU squads will continue competition next weekend as they head to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Tyson Invitational.