ARLINGTON, Texas – Coming off a landmark meet for Northwestern State track and field at the TCU Invitational, where the Demons and Lady Demons put up six top-five marks in school history, NSU now travels to the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational.
 
"We were great across the board last weekend, from jumps, to sprints, to throws, and the distance team, it was a great overall showing," head coach Mike Heimerman said. "it is hard to single one event out, because I would be leaving another great performance out, so I am just hoping we can keep this momentum going at UTA."
 
The two-day event at Maverick Stadium starts on Friday with only one event, the hammer throw.
 
The women's final is set for 9:30 a.m., with the men's final following.
 
Saturday will be an all-day affair, led off by the field events that will commence with the women's javelin throw at 9:00 a.m.
 
Lady Demon Kelsey Frank owns the Southland's top mark in the event, and she will be looking for her third-straight win in as many tries.

 Frank, a junior, has captured first place at the McNeese State Cowboy Relays (155-1) and the TCU Invitational (152) to begin her outdoor campaign.

"She (Frank) is filling some big shoes. NSU has a long-standing tradition in the women's javelin, thanks to girls like Ashley Aldredge, Samantha Ford and Jessica Talley," Heimerman said. "But I think Kelsey (Frank) is stepping into that role, and I would not be surprised to see her do something none of those girls were able to do, which is beat the school record of 166-09."
 
The throws will be another point of interest for the Demons, as junior-transfer Kyrin Tucker is now the top-ranked discus thrower in the Southland (168-0) thanks to his performance at TCU, where he also hit a personal best of 56-2.5 in the shot put to finish second overall.  
 
"Kyrin (Tucker) keeps getting better every day, I think the distances speak for themselves," Heimerman said. "We are working on getting him to become more consistent, and I am looking forward to seeing him build off that PR this weekend."
 
After a big weekend for the jumps in Fort Worth, where assistant coach Tyron Stewart saw his men's and women's squad combine for three victories, Stewart hopes his team can cap off the field events for NSU at the Bobby Lane Invitational.
 
"What stood out to me was the effort last weekend," Stewart said. "Now that they have seen the results, our training is beginning to change as we prepare for conference, starting with the meet this weekend."
The three wins came from freshman Tre' Evans in the high jump (6-06.75) and sophomore Ceaser Stephens in the triple (49-10) for the Demons, while freshman Jasmyn Steel tallied a win and a PR in the long jump (19-09.50) for the Lady Demons.
 
"Jasmyn (Steels) showed us how important she was during the indoor season," Stewart said. "She did not compete to her standards, which hurt us on the points. But now, she is proving she is ready for the outdoor season."
 
"And Ceaser (Stephens) brings so much enthusiasm to the team," Stewart said. "He comes to practice every day and works hard. He's becoming a student of the game, and has really devoted himself to learning the sport."
 
The running events are set to start at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday with the B-Sections, with the main events beginning at 1:35 p.m. for NSU with the 4x100 relays.
 
After an impressive overall weekend for his squad, Associate head coach Adam Pennington is focused on keeping his athletes healthy throughout the long outdoor season, as the Demons and Lady Demons have competed in three meets this term.

"One thing I do not want to do, is burn these kids out," Pennington said. "We will take a step back this week, probably only run one or two events, along with the relays so they can practice exchanges, because it is a long season."
 
Newly-minted school-record holder in the women's 200m De'Shalyn Jones is one of the athletes Pennington is referring to, as the junior will be held out of her hallmark event this weekend.

"It's funny because right before she set the record at TCU (23.12), she basically told me she was going to do it," Pennington said. "But we want to keep De'Shalyn (Jones) healthy, so she will open in the 400 and leave the 200 alone this weekend."
 
Also expecting a lightened workload for the Demons are All-Americans Micah Larkins and Amir James.
 
Larkins, a sophomore, currently ranks third in the 100m nationally with his time of 10.26, while James, a junior, is the NCAA's top-ranked sprinter in the 200.
 
"I'm impressed, but not surprised, by what those guys are doing," Pennington said. "I know what they are capable of, and their times should only get faster."
 
The Lady Demons have a duo of its own in the hurdles, juniors Braneshia Payton and Daeshon Gordon, who begin at 2:20 p.m. with the 100H, and conclude with the 400H at 5:05 p.m.
 
Both are coming off cracking the NSU top-five in the 100H, as Payton's personal best time of 13.51 led to a second-place finish last weekend, which is not only second in school history, but also ranks fourth in the country.
 
Gordon's time of 13.55 snagged third overall last weekend, and at the same time, tied her for fourth on the women's all-time list.
 
In the distance events, junior Josh Wilkins looks to build off a personal best of his own at TCU, where he claimed second in the men's 1500 with a time of 3:57.18.
 
Live results of the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational can be found at http://www.deltatiming.com/results.aspx.