NATCHITOCHES – For the second year in a row, after collecting four gold medals at the Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Northwestern State's record-shattering sprinter De'Shalyn Jones has again been chosen Southland Outdoor Track and Field Women's Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Running Events Performer.
 
Head coaches of the 13 track and field programs in the conference voted for awards in the past few days. Abilene Christian senior thrower Kai Schmidt, who made three podium appearances including wins in the shot and discus, won the men's Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Field Events Performer awards announced Tuesday by the league office.
 
Jones, the first Lady Demon to win back-to-back conference track and field athlete of the year titles, is the fourth competitor in Southland history to claim the award back-to-back. Jones is also the first NSU athlete to repeat as outstanding running events performer and is the sixth person to do so in Southland history. An NSU sprinter has won this title for the third straight year, starting with Jermeka McBride's title in 2016.
 
"De'Shalyn has proven herself time after time that she is best runner in the conference and she deserves all of the accolades that she has earned," said NSU head coach Mike Heimerman. "She has become the best female sprinter ever at Northwestern State and is also one of the best in conference history."
 
Folding in a leg on the championship 4x400 meter relay team ending the 2016 Southland Outdoors, with her consecutive sprint sweeps in 2017 and 2018, Jones won the last nine Southland Outdoor Championship events she entered. She is preparing for the NCAA East Preliminary Round May 24-26 in Tampa and potential advancement to the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Jones repeated as the Southland Outdoors' Female High Point Scorer May 5-6 at the 2018 conference championships in San Antonio. She swept the 100 and 200 meter dash individual crowns along with running decisive legs on the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relays, matching her 25-point total from 2017. She took the 100 in 11.44 and claimed the 200 in 23.09, missing her own school record by 0.05 and the meet record by 0.06.
 
Jones contributed a blazing second leg on the 4x100 team that clocked 44.75, second all-time in school history, 0.08 behind the seven-year-old school record of 44.68. The 2016 Southland 400 meter champion was a pivotal part of the school, meet and stadium record 3:36.31 time that won the 4x400.
 
"I am honored to be outdoor athlete of the year. I put in a lot of hard work leading up to conference and for it to pay off feels amazing. There are some really talented ladies in the Southland Conference so for me to win this award, so I'm very honored," said Jones, a Tyler, Texas-John Tyler High product who graduated from NSU last Friday.
 
"I am equally excited about winning the outstanding running events performer. We have some pretty good sprinters and distance runners in our conference so to win outstanding runner shows that other coaches in the conference are taking notice of the work I've put in this season," Jones said.
 
Holder of five Lady Demon records, Jones has emerged as a dominant force in the program and the Southland since Adam Pennington arrived as sprints coach at the outset of her sophomore season.
 
"She is very diligent and smart, which gets her ahead of the pack," said Heimerman, "and Coach Pennington has done a great job in developing her in the past three years."
 
Pennington's impact was so vast and immediate in the program during 2016 that he was promoted to associate head coach following the season. He has unique insight into Jones' championship makeup.
 
"De'Shalyn has become one of the top sprinters in the country because of work ethic and the push from her teammates. She's extremely hard on herself and doesn't accept failure," said Pennington.
 
"I don't care who they are or what school they may be from when you line up beside her, you better be mentally ready. She has a killer instinct and when that gun goes off, she is hard to beat. Some people have it and some don't. She has it.
 
"Someone might eventually break some of her records but there will never be another De'Shalyn Jones. She is the most decorated (female) sprinter in NSU history. As great of an athlete she is, she's even a better person. I will truly miss her. But it's not over yet because she has regionals ahead of her, at least," said Pennington.
 
Jones is the school record-holder in the 100 (11.37), 200 (23.04), 400 (53.61), 4x200 (1:35.70), and the 4x400 (3:36.31), and is second all-time in the 4x100 (44.75). 
 
Jones and at least 19 more Demons and Lady Demons are training for the upcoming NCAA East Preliminary Round, where the top 48 qualifiers in each event strive to post top 12 marks and advance to the national meet. Jones is competing in the 100 (32^nd in the East), 200 (22^nd in the East), 4x100 (20^th in the region and 40^th overall), and in the 4x400 (14^th in the East and 31^st overall).
 
Final declarations for the regional meet are Thursday morning. The top 48 regional performances are guaranteed berths in their events, but injuries and multiple-event qualifications can result in some qualifiers dropping out of events and allowing higher-ranked competitors to reach the NCAA preliminary rounds.
 
Along with the 20 competitors from NSU safely inside the top 48 marks and headed to Tampa, there are a handful more who could conceivably benefit from withdrawals of qualifiers and earn spots in the field, said Heimerman.
 
The full slate of Southland Conference award recipients named Tuesday included:
 
Women's Athlete of the Year & Women's Outstanding Running Events Performer – De'Shalyn Jones, Northwestern State
This marks Jones' second consecutive season as the outdoor championship high point scorer, Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Running Events Performer. The senior out of Tyler, Texas, took gold in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m, all for the second straight year.
 
Women's Outstanding Field Events Performer – Tristyn Allen, Sam Houston State
Allen earned Outstanding Field Events Performer honors for the second straight season, led by a repeat gold medal in the triple jump. The junior from Sealy, Texas, also took a silver medal in the long jump.
 
Women's Freshman of the Year – Migle Muraskaite, Lamar
A Vilnius, Lithuania, native, Muraskaite made her mark at her first Southland outdoor meet. She took silver in the heptathlon while also getting on the podium with a silver in the javelin throw.
 
Women's Newcomer of the Year – Allyson Girard, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
The junior transfer from Mesa Community College (Ariz.) earned a comfortable gold medal in the 1,500m finals to go along with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000m behind teammate Rabea Schoneborn.
 
Women's Coach of the Year – David Self, Sam Houston State
Self earned his third Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year award of his career after leading the Bearkats to their third team championship in five years. It is the program's sixth overall, second only to Stephen F. Austin's eight.
 
Men's Athlete of the Year & Men's Outstanding Field Events Performer – Kai Schmidt, Abilene Christian
Schmidt was awarded the conference's top accolade after reaching the podium three times at the Southland Outdoor Championships. The senior from Krefeld, Germany, won the shot put and discus throw along with a bronze-medal finish in the javelin.
 
Men's Outstanding Running Events Performer – Chris Jefferson, Sam Houston State
Jefferson put on a well-rounded effort for the Bearkats to help pace them to a team title. The junior took gold in the 200m, silver in the 100m and bronze in both the 4x100m and 4x400m.
 
Men's Freshman of the Year – Zack Johnson, Sam Houston State
Johnson reached the top of the podium in his first year with the Bearkats, taking gold in the long jump. He narrowly missed out on a second medal, finishing fourth in the triple jump.
 
Men's Newcomer of the Year – Matthew Arnold, Lamar
The junior from London, England, earned a silver medal in the 5,000m and bronze medal in the 3,000m steeplechase in his first season in Beaumont.
 
Men's Coach of the Year – David Self, Sam Houston State
In his ninth year at the helm of Sam Houston State, Self led the Bearkats to their second straight men's team title and fourth overall. It is the second time the program has won back-to-back titles since its first two in 2005 and 2006.