LAKE CHARLES – With freshman jumper Lauren Clarke winning twice, the Northwestern State track and field teams combined for 205 points and had 20 podium finishes in the McNeese Cowboy Relays/Bob Hayes Challenge Saturday, opening the 2019 outdoor season.
 
NSU had a total of five event wins at the Lena and Bill Henning Track and Field Complex among the field of 10 collegiate programs and three non-college affiliated teams. Clarke took the women's high jump (5-3) and triple jump (40-9 ½) gold medals.
 
Other victories for Northwestern competitors came by Kristin McDuffie in the women's discus (138-6), from Demon javelin thrower Collin Milton (186-5) and in the women's 4x200 meter relay (1:39.39).
 
Sixth-year head track and field coach Mike Heimerman said he was pleased with the meet, even while resting some of the top talent in the program.
 
"I thought it went well. We had a very wet and cold week of practice so it was nice to finally get out there and just compete," said Heimerman. "We had some good performances, and nobody got hurt. It's a great start to the season."  
 
The hosting Cowboys and Cowgirls combined for 330 points to win the meet by a large margin over second-place UL-Monroe at 208 points. Tying NSU at 205 was UL Lafayette, with Southeastern Louisiana at 118 leading the rest of the 11-team pack.
 
In the high jump, Clarke, a Houston native, edged fellow Lady Demon freshman Marlee Paulk who leaped 5-1 to claim second. Clarke's triple jump winning mark was eight inches more than ULM's Micaiah Dendy.
 
The Demons got their best showing of the meet from the javelin throwers, who accounted for 21 points. Milton led freshman Cole Spooner (176-5, third), sophomore Colt Shankle (172-8, fourth), freshman Joshua Riggs (167-7, fifth) and senior De'John Garrison (156-0, seventh).
 
Along with her discus win, Texarkana (Texas) junior McDuffie also set a personal record in the hammer throw with a distance of 126-11, coming in eighth.
 
Senior Savannah State transfer LaRon James placed second in the long jump in his first NSU outdoor competition with a leap of 24-5 ¾. Markeit Steverson Jr., a junior, set a new personal record of 24-3 for  third.
 
Senior Kelsey Ford, the 2017 Southland Conference javelin champion, made her return to competition after redshirting in 2018 by recording a runner-up finish with a mark of 143-9.
 
Demon freshmen Jeffery Frazier (triple jump, 47-1 ½) and Marco Arevalo (shot put, 53-2 ¼) made their outdoor debuts with both placing second in their events.
 
Senior Marjorie Thompson claimed a bronze medal in the women's 100 meter dash at 12.23, her first time competing in the event for NSU.
 
UTSA transfer Ariel Watson placed third in the triple jump with a distance of 39-8 ¾ in her first outdoor event as a Lady Demon.
 
Freshman Jayla Fields recorded a long jump of 18-5 to claim third in her college outdoor debut.
 
Lady Demons just off the medal list: Destiney Myers, fourth (42-3 ¼) in the shot put and eighth (121-11) in the discus throw; and Amber Bruce, fourth (139-8) in the javelin.
 
Brooke Petkovich claimed fifth (17-11) in the long jump, with Monique Walker also fifth (36-3) in the triple jump and sixth (17-11) in the long jump.
 
Sabrina Thiels was sixth (118-2) in the javelin and Jasmine Dansby ran sixth (1:07.77) in the 400 hurdles.
 
Seventh places went to Keidrick Haynes (23-3 ½) in the long jump and Michael Turner (136-8) in the discus throw. William Malone took eighth (143-3) in the hammer throw.
 
The men's 4x100 and 4x800 relay teams placed third while the Demons' 4x200 relay team took fifth.
 
Along with the Lady Demons' 4x200 relay win, their 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 teams claimed second.
On Friday night, junior Jasmyn Steels win a national championship, doing so with a new school record 21-2 ½ in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham Alabama.
 
The outdoor season continues at the TCU invitational in Fort Worth, Texas, next Saturday.