AUSTIN, Texas – The Northwestern State track and field program is off to a very fast start in the 2017 outdoor season, with several competitors owning performances ranking among the nation's best.
 
This weekend, they line up alongside many of the nation's elite at the prestigious Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
 
NSU is sending 20 competitors to the 90^th running of the event, which will feature the largest field in its history. A total of 7,740 athletes, spanning 17 countries and 37 states, are set to compete at Mike A. Myers Stadium through Saturday.
 
Three Lady Demons will kick off the action for NSU on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in the preliminary heat of the 400-meter hurdles. All-American and former LSU competitor Daeshon Gordon headlines NSU's entries in the event.

Gordon, a junior from Pompano Beach, Florida, is the Southland Conference's top-ranked 400H, after she posted one of her best performances of the spring at UTA's Bobby Lane Invitational. The All-American's mark of 1:01.29 found its way into the Lady Demon history books, where it now ranks third all-time.  
 
Joining Gordon will be senior Madison Morton and junior Kristina Vujanic.
 
Morton, who had NSU's second-best all-time mark last year, has posted a top-five finish in every 400H start this year, including the Southland's fourth-ranked time of 1:02.08 at the TCU Invitational.
 
Vujanic has had similar success, as she boasts the conference's third-best time of 1:01.91 that helped the Lady Demons claim the Bob Hayes Cup at the McNeese State Relays this spring.
 
The men's 400 hurdles will follow at 5 p.m., when Demon senior George Flaviano, and sophomore teammate Charlie Milton are scheduled to compete.  
 
Flaviano, a key cog in last year's All-American 4x100 team who won the Southland 400H crown last May, is hoping to make his outdoor debut after rehabbing a minor injury.
 
Milton qualified for the event with his fifth-place performance in the hurdles at TCU (55.75).
 
The hurdle finals will take place on Friday, with the women's 400H starting at 7 p.m. and the men to follow at 7:05 p.m.
 
Junior distance runner Joshua Wilkins will cap off Thursday's action when he lines up for Section B's 1500 meter race at 7:20 p.m.
 
Wilkins has two-top four performances in the 1500, with his best coming in Fort Worth, where his time of 3:57.18 is the conference's fifth-best mark on the year. 
 
 
The action heats up at 9:35 a.m. on Friday morning with the preliminary running events.
 
The Lady Demon 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams represent the best the Southland Conference has to offer after posting times of 45.32 and 3:41.09 two weeks ago at TCU. The quartets will see how they stack up nationally against some of the top-ranked schools in the country.

A key member of both women's relay teams, De'Shalyn Jones, will try her luck in the 100.

Jones, a junior from Tyler, Texas, owns the 11^th-ranked 200 time in America, and is the Lady Demon school record holder in the event, but has yet to compete in the 100 this year.
 
The All-American 4x100 men's relay team returns from a year ago, featuring Flaviano, Micah Larkins, Amir James and Ty Shilling. The squad has yet to show any signs of slowing, owning a Southland-best time of 39.92.
 
Larkins and James will also run in the 100, where they are ranked third and fifth in the country with times of 10.26 and 10.30.
 
If NSU qualifies, finals will take place Saturday afternoon. The 4x100 relays are slated to begin at 1:30 p.m., with the 100 at 2:55 p.m.
 
Saturday's morning session will end with the field events. NSU's Kyrin Tucker and Cedric Paul, two of the Southland's top-ranked throwers, are set to perform in the men's Section B discus and shot put.
 
Junior Kelsey Frank, who is a three-time winner this year, will wrap up the morning's field events in the Section A women's javelin throw at 11:30 a.m.
 
The Texas Relays could culminate on Saturday for the Lady Demons if the 4x400 team of Gordon, Natashia Jackson, Jones and Morton can qualify for the finals, which will close the meet out at 4:05 p.m.
 
This year's Texas Relays features live television coverage. Watch NSU athletes in action each day on the Longhorn Network, which will also provide live streaming video of the meet on ESPN3.com starting at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, 9:30 a.m. in the morning session and 7 p.m. in the evening session on Friday and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Live results will be provided by Prime Time Timing and can be found online at http://www.primetimetiming.com.
 
Live updates on NSU athletes will also be provided on twitter.com, so please follow @NSUDemonsTF for updates throughout the weekend.