BATON ROUGE— Northwestern State senior sprinter De'Shalyn Jones etched a remarkable place in Lady Demon track and field history Saturday as she altered the school record book twice in the same day with a blazing 100 meter mark and a leg on a blistering 4x400 relay at the LSU Alumni Gold meet at Bernie Moore Stadium.
 
NSU swept triple jump titles, with Demon junior Ceaser Stephens recording the country's 12^th-best mark (52-0 ½), among eight podium appearances and 28 top eight finishes in a meet featuring national powers along with lots of strong regional competition. It came a week before the program's only home appearance, the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex next Saturday.
 
The 2018 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships are two weeks away and Jones appears a threat to repeat as the meet's High Point Scorer and Outstanding Female Athlete.
 
With her 11.37 in the 100 erasing a 15-year-old mark, followed at meet's end by a 3:37.86 by Natashia Jackson, Jones, Widline Lageroy and Courtney Willis for the Lady Demons' all-time 4x400 best, Jones now owns five NSU sprint records. She broke the 200 mark a week earlier with a 23.04 clocking, ran an all-time best 53.61 in the 400 in 2017, and also contributed a leg on the record 1:35.70 time in the 4x200 relay early this month at the Texas Relays.
 
In the 100, Jones broke the 15-year old record set by the late Camille Pouncy (11.41) in the Southland Outdoor Championships on May 11, 2002. Saturday, she won her heat in an 18-sprinter field and her time was fourth overall behind two LSU standouts and an Arkansas sprinter.
 
"De'Shalyn surprised me. I expected her to run fast and break her personal record (11.50), but I didn't anticipate her to run that fast," said NSU sprints coach Adam Pennington. "She is undefeated head-to-head on the track this year. She also ran a 400 split of 51.1 in the 4x400, which is faster than her record of 53.61 by two seconds."
 
A late lineup change didn't impede the Lady Demons in the 4x400 relay. Their time bested a six-year-old school mark (3.38.26) by Quiana Griffin, Constance Seibles, Lawana Perkins, and Consuela Lindsay and was fourth in Southland Conference history. Saturday, it placed NSU sixth behind LSU, Arkansas, Clemson, Texas and Texas State.
 
"Considering that Willis was added to the lineup 25 minutes before the start of the race, it's really impressive we still broke the school record," Pennington said. Willis replaced hurdler Daeshon Gordon, who was unavailable to run the relay after an eighth-place 13.37 in her specialty, the 100 hurdles.
 
Demon junior Micah Larkins posted a wind-legal mark of 10.17 in the 100, fastest among collegiate runners and third overall. Teammate Kie'Ave Harry ran eighth in the A-section field with a 10.47 time.
 
Standout senior Amir James took eighth in the A-section 200 field with a 20.90 clocking as the Demons sprint corps had another impressive meet.
 
"Micah ran the fastest legal time in the 100 and I am very pleased with his performance," Pennington said. "He was dealing with a stomach bug and went through a rigorous week of training, and yet came out and ran a great time. He is only getting fastest and faster." 
 
Stephens and Brooke Petkovich gave NSU a sweep in the triple jump. Petkovich jumped a PR with a wind-assisted 39-1 ¼ mark.
 
Discus throwers Kyrin Tucker and Cori Runnels were runner up finishers after personal record performances. Tucker threw 176-3 in the men's competition and Runnels tossed 160-8 in the women's field.
 
In the women's 800, NSU's Jessica Coleman took silver with a 2:13.86 that threatened her PR of 2:13.74.
 
Demon throws standout Cedric Paul continued his strong senior spring, taking third in the shot put at 58-8 ½. Tucker was fifth (56-6 ¾).
 
Jacqueline Rushford reached the podium and was under a second away from the 3000 steeplechase school mark with her third-place effort. The Lady Demon senior improved her PR by 12 seconds, clocking 11:29.58, and was a second away from breaking the school record, 11:28.70 in 2012 by Allison Fontenot.
 
Teammate Emily Sitarz claimed eighth with a 12:53.30 clocking.
 
Fabriana Nation took fourth in the women's long jump (18-0 ½) and the triple (37-6). Another fourth place for NSU came from Demon sophomore Quindarrius Thompson, who posted an outdoor triple jump PR of 50-5 ½.
 
More fifths for NSU were Tre'Darius Carr (21.60, 200), JaCorious Jeter (47-4, triple jump), and Tamara Style (1:00.38 in the women's 400 hurdles).
 
Lady Demon senior Erin Wrozek ran a season-best 800 time of 2:18.29 to earn a sixth place. The Lady Demons' 4x100 foursome of Gordon, Jones, Jackson and Deja Moore finished sixth in 45.61, trailing LSU, Tiger Olympians, Arkansas, Clemson and Texas.
 
NSU got a pair of seventh places by Desmond Mapps (men's 100, B-section, 10.86; 200, B-section, 21.91).
 
Joshua Wilkins was eighth in the A-section 1500, running 4:05.30. Charlie Milton gave the Demons an eighth-place 55.34 in the B-section 400 meter hurdles. Jeter finished eighth in the long jump (22-9).
 
The Demons failed to finish their talented 4x100 relay team due to a dropped baton.