NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State track and field teams posted four national top 25 performances among 12 wins Friday in the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex with the Lady Demons breaking two school records and two meet records.
 
NSU won a combined 12 events, six by each gender. Stephen F. Austin had 11 combined wins (six men) while six other schools had two victories or less among the 37 events contested.
 
In her first home competition since winning the 2019 NCAA Indoor championship March 8, Lady Demon junior Jasmyn Steels broke school and meet records in the long jump with a 21-3 ½ mark. The College Station, Texas, native's jump is the NCAA's best wind-legal mark (2.0 mph or below) this outdoor season. A couple of weeks ago, she sailed 21-4 ½ with a 2.1 mph wind at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Only Kansas State's Taishia Pryce (21-8) has a better leap (2.4 mph wind) also at the Texas Relays.
 
Sophomore Reagan Darbonne came into the day already holding the Lady Demons' pole vault school record of 13-1 set this past week at Stephen F. Austin, a distinction she shared with teammate Annemarie Broussard. The sophomore from Hackberry broke that mark Friday with a height of 13-2 ½ to place second. She tied a personal best with the performance, having reached the same mark during the 2019 indoor season.
 
Senior Kelsey Frank took gold in the javelin throw with the third-best mark in school history, 163-5, a PR by over seven feet. The toss ranks 24th nationally.
 
Natashia Jackson claimed gold twice with a win in the women's 400 meter dash in a meet-record 53.69, the fourth-fastest in school history, and ran a leg on the winning 4x100 relay team at 45.49 with teammates Ona Giles, Kimani Evans and Deja Moore.
 
In similar fashion, 2018 first-team relay All-Americans Micah Larkins and Tre'Darius Carr won the 200 (20.97) and the 100 (10.59) and combined to make up half of the winning 4x100 relay team (39.51) alongside Eddie Clarke and Javin Arrington, a junior who joined the foursome for the first time. The Demons' 4x100 now ranks 13th nationally with a season best, improving by 0.49. 
 
Freshman Lauren Clarke added another Lady Demon victory in the triple jump at 41-9 ¼, a personal best.
 
Senior Tremayne Flagler won the 110 hurdles with the fifth-fastest clocking in school history, 13.98, a time that is 25^th nationally this spring.
 
The distance group claimed three victories with Yannik Gerland winning the 3000 steeplechase (9:46.58), Cody Robinson taking the 5000 (16:20.66) and Isabella Hudson claiming the 1500 (4:57.67). All three times were personal bests.
 
A total of 35 Demons and Lady Demons achieved personal bests in the meet, an improvement from last year's 28.
 
McNeese's Grace McKenzie swept the women's hurdles (14.02 in the Daeshon Gordon 100 meter hurdles, 59.97 in the 400 hurdles), the only competitor to post two individual wins Friday.
 
SFA pole vaulter Nastassja Campbell broke the women's Ledet Complex and meet records with a 13-6 ½ clearance. The Lumberjacks' A.J. Bennett won the men's 400 (47.20) and ran the lead leg on the winning 4x400 relay team (3:11.62).
 
NSU heads to the LSU Alumni Gold meet next Saturday before returning home to host the 2019 Outdoor Southland Conference Championships on May 3-5.