BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – With nationally-ranked sprint and triple jump corps leading the way, the Northwestern State Demons head to the Birmingham CrossPlex Sunday and Monday for the Indoor Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship, trying to match or improve last year's third-place finish.
 
Action begins Sunday with the women's 5,000 meter run at 12 p.m. The first men's event is also the 5,000 and is scheduled for 12:30. Qualifying heats in most running events, along with four men's field event finals (long jump, weight throw, pole vault, high jump), are on Sunday's schedule.
 
The Demons scored 80 points while finishing third among 12 teams a year ago. NSU aspires to claim its fifth indoor team championship, but the first since 2001.
 
Head coach Mike Heimerman says the Demons have a difficult path to win a team championship but that doesn't alter their approach.
 
"We want to execute and dominate. We're trying to win a team title. It's a little tougher on the men's side than for our women (to challenge for a team championship), but I know they're going to go out there and give everything they've got," said Heimerman. "Our motto last year was to 'show up and show out' and that's what they're going to do again this year."
 
Seniors Micah Larkins (60 meter dash) and Ceaser Stephens (triple jump) own the conference's best marks in their events and are among the nation's best.
 
Larkins, a reigning outdoor All-American, ran a season-best 6.66 in the 60 meter dash at the LSU Twilight meet last weekend, winning in the final indoor regular-season meet of 2019. He was voted SLC track athlete of the week for his performance. The time was the nation's 25^th-best.
 
Larkins, a Haughton product, also ranks fifth in the conference in the 200 with a time of 21.45. 
 
NSU's 60 meter dash squad ranks eighth in the nation with an average time of 6.75. The squad rankings are calculated by averaging a school's top performances by four different competitors in a given event.  Larkins was part of the Demons' seventh-place men's 4x100 relay team at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Stephens, an Opelika, Alabama, product, soared 51-8 ¼ in the triple jump at the prestigious UA Tyson Invitational to finish sixth and move into the No. 25 spot in the country. He was named Southland field athlete of the week for his showing. He also leads the Demons' TJ squad that currently ranks third in the nation with an average distance of 49-2 ¼.
 
Also boosting the jumps are SLC third-ranked LaRon James (24-7 ¾, long jump), fourth-ranked Markeit Steverson (23-11 ¾, TJ), and fourth-ranked Quindarrius Thompson (50-0 ¾, TJ).
 
Associate head coach and sprints coach Adam Pennington says he believes all of his sprinters are capable of having a huge day.
 
"We're really looking forward to everyone doing some big things. Micah Larkins is always a guy who is very competitive in the 60 but the Southland is probably one of the top three most competitive conferences in the country in that event," said Pennington. "Tre'Darius Carr is always solid and should do well. Eddie Clarke is a gamer when it comes to championship time and was an Atlantic Coast Conference champion this time last season with Florida State."
 
"Anything is possible with these guys. I'm excited to see what they do."
 
Also expected to make noise in the 60 is Larkins' fellow outdoor All-American Kie'Ave Harry, a junior who ranks fifth in the conference with a 6.72 at the LSU Twilight meet this past Friday.
 
"Kie'Ave is on fire lately. He's gotten over his injury problems and is finally starting to figure everything out," said Pennington.
 
Senior Tremayne Flagler is having a solid indoor season in the 60 hurdles and ranks second in the SLC. The Atlanta native has won four total races, with his best of 7.86 coming at the UA Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville earlier this month.
 
Pacing the Demons' distance group is Slavoski Wright in the 800. The freshman runner ranks third in the conference after posting a 1:54.13 at the UA Tyson Invitational.
 
Anchoring the throws squad is freshman shot putter Marco Arevalo. His 52-7 ½ mark at the LSU Twilight meet is seventh in the conference.      
 
The Southland Indoor Track and Field Championships will be streamed on the Southland Digital Network. Visit southland.org/live or download the Southland Conference app, available for iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
 
The Birmingham facility will showcase the nation's best 15 performers in each event March 9-10 at the NCAA Indoor National Championships.
 
Live results are available here: Live Results
 
2019 Athlete Performances are available here: Athlete Performance List