NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State indoor track and field teams are gaining some national attention, garnering a combined nine top-30 ranked event squads by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in its bi-weekly rankings.
 
The event squad index combines a school's top four performances in any given event and ranks them among all Division I schools in the NCAA.
 
The Demons ranked sixth in the triple jump, 10^th in the 60 meter dash, 11^th in the long jump, and 25^th in the 200.  
 
The Lady Demons were also listed four times for their performances in the triple jump (22^nd), 200 (25^th), 60 (29^th), and the 400 (29^th).
 
Ceaser Stephens leads the sixth-ranked triple jump squad with a jump of 50-4 ¾ at the OU Sooner Challenge, ranking as the current 38^th longest in the nation and the second best in the Southland. Quindarrius Thompson (48-6), Jeffery Frazier (47-3 ½), and Jacorious Jeter (44-10 ¼) round out the group who average 47-9 combined this season. The squad is the highest ranked team in the South Central Region.
 
The men's 60 is led by three outdoor All-American sprinters: Micah Larkins, Kie'Ave Harry, and Tre'Darius Carr. Larkins has the Southland's second-best time of 6.69 in the event this season, only 0.01 away from Sam Houston State's Jo'vaughn Martin. Javin Arrington joins the prestigious group as the fourth best 60 runner for the Demons this year. The quartet averages a time of 6.80 in a tie with Tennessee and Kentucky. The group is the second ranked South Central Region team behind only Houston, who ranks fourth overall.
 
Savannah State senior transfer LaRon James has had a fantastic start to his NSU career, finishing second in the long jump at the TAMU Invitational (24-1 ¾) and first at the Pittsburg State Invitational (24/7 ¾), which ranks as the third best jump in conference. Joining him in the long jump ranks are Markeit Steverson, who ranks fourth in the SLC with his jump of 23-11 ¾ at the TAMU Invitational. Jeter's and Keidrick Haynes' jumps of 23-4 and 22-5 ¾, respectively, push the squad to a 23-7¼ average and an 11^th-place national ranking. The Demon long jumpers rank as the top Southland team and the fourth in the South Central region behind Texas (2^nd overall), LSU (3^rd overall), and Houston (4^th overall).
 
The men's 200 group is made up of the same four athletes as the 60. Larkins (21.45), Carr (21.51), Arrington (21.92), and Harry (23.93) combine for an average of 21.70. Sam Houston State is the top conference team, ranked sixth nationally.
In the women's triple jump, the Lady Demons enjoy the collective efforts of Lauren Clarke's jump of 39-1 ¾, Ariel Watson's 38-11 ¾, Brooke Petkovich's 38-0, and Monique Walker's 33-3 ¼. With an average jump of 37-4¼, the group boasts a No. 22 ranking, the second best in the Southland behind McNeese who ranks 19^th overall.
 
Not only do the Lady Demons' top runners in the 200 rank 25^th in the country as a group, they rank first in the SLC and include the best individual conference performer at that event in Natashia Jackson. The junior sprinter set the conference bar running 24.32 at the TAMU Invitational. Deja Moore (24.41), Kimani Evans (24.80), and Jayla Fields (24.95) all compliment Jackson's dominance ranking second, fifth, and ninth in conference respectively. Their average time of 24.62 wedges them directly between Florida (24^th) and Houston (26^th).
 
The NSU women rank 29^th in the 60 and again include Moore (7.52), Evans (7.59), and Jackson (7.65). Joining them is Marjorie Thompson who ran a 7.66 at the TAMU Invitational. The Lady Demons are currently tied at 7.60 with Louisville, Miami, and North Texas.
 
The final top-30 team for the track and field teams is the women's 400 squad with a No. 29 national ranking. Jackson again leads all Lady Demons with a conference-leading time of 55.11. Courtney Willis (57.38), Diana Granados (57.42), and Jasmine Hall (58.29) make up the remaining top performers in the event. All four established season highs last weekend at the Pittsburg State Invitational. Their 57.05 average is the best in the Southland.
 
The 2019 indoor season continues with the LSU Bayou Bengal Invitational Friday at 11:00 a.m.