NATCHITOCHES – Mothers across the nation received jewelry and other gifts as people celebrated maternal figures this past weekend.
 
But Northwestern State sprinter Natashia Jackson hopes to secure a different kind of Mother's Day present this coming weekend at the Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Humble, Texas, just outside of her native Houston.
 
Jackson and the Lady Demons are chasing a conference championship ring, which would be the first in program history.
 
It was Jackson's mother, Tamika, who spurred her children into track after dreams of her own track career ended.
 
"Everything I do in track is for my Mom," Jackson said. "Every medal I get is not for me, it's for her.
 
"I'm living out her dream, and it became my dream as I continued on with it. My mom wanted to make it to the Olympics and wanted to make it in college track, but she had my brother (La'Darion) and then my sister (Tara'Neshia) and then me. But it's one of those things where I saw the passion she still had for track, and I saw something I could do in track. It makes her happy and it makes me happy, and I want to say 'Hey, this is for you.'"
 
Gold has been Jackson's color throughout her NSU career as the sprinter has amassed 16 gold medals at seven different SLC Championships to date, including relay medals.
 
That total is the most in NSU history and ranks third all-time in the SLC record books.
 
If Jackson can win at least three of her four events this weekend (200 meters, 400 meters, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay), she'll move into second all-time in league history.
 
Texas State's Lajuana Lovett is safe with 22 career gold medals with Texas-San Antonio's Tamesha Roberts in reach with 18 golds.
 
"It's phenomenal that she already ranks third in that get category, and it shows you the want and the drive that she's had ever since she's gotten here," said NSU head coach Mike Heimerman. "She already has one of the best gold medal hauls in history, and it's huge just to have the opportunity to move into second place.
 
"(Natashia) gets it done on the track and in the classroom, and anyone who's ever met her knows she's special in every which way. She's the epitome of a student-athlete."
 
All of Jackson's golds (nine individual sprint golds and seven relay golds) have come in sprints whereas Lovett and Roberts each won golds in jumps events as well.
 
Lovett snatched 11 individual sprint titles (2002-04) and Roberts captured 10 (1996-98).
 
Jackson, who's earned her nickname "Speedy," is a master in the 400 meters, where she has won the three previous outdoor golds and two of the last three indoor titles.
 
No SLC sprinter has ever won all four gold medals in an event (outdoor or indoor), and if Jackson can capture 400 gold in Sunday's finals, she'd be just the third runner and the sixth athlete of any kind to win four golds in the same event.
 
"I was honestly shocked when my coaches told me about the medal counts and history," Jackson said. "My main goal in college was to win an event as a freshman, and I wanted to carry that streak all the way through.
 
"It happened to be the 400. To have that many medals, I wasn't keeping count, I was just thankful to win medals. I have to stay humble because most don't have that opportunity. It would be awesome for NSU to have those records, and it's a goal that I'll go for."
 
In addition to Jackson's five golds in the 400 (indoor and outdoor combined), she's won three 200 titles and ran legs on six 4x400 title relays and another two 4x100 relays.
 
"To have an opportunity to score that many points, break that many records and hold that many medals throughout the Southland Conference – she's a true SLC girl right now," said Adam Pennington, NSU associate head track coach who is in charge of sprints. "She's represented this conference and NSU pretty well over the years.
 
"She's probably the most competitive runner I've ever been around. But one key to that is not being so hard on herself and continue to grow and learn from the smallest thing. She shows back up on Monday and doesn't let Saturday's race affect her. You can't coach that, it's just instilled in her."
 
For the NSU women to compete for a title, Jackson will likely need gold in all four of her events.
 
She's the favorite in the 200, posting a career-best 23.52 earlier this month.
 
Jackson is ranked second in her specialty 400 (53.86) behind Stephen F. Austin's Imani Nave (53.21), although Nave has beaten Jackson just once in an SLC Championship 400 meters (2019 Indoor).
 
Both NSU relays are heavy favorites, and the Lady Demons have won six of the last seven 4x400 relays and two of the last three in the 4x100 relay.
 
Because of COVID-19 canceling the 2020 outdoor season, Jackson didn't have eligibility left for this past indoor season as she watched her Lady Demons come up just short of a team title (six points).
 
Now pieces like Jackson and national champion long jumper Jasmyn Steels are back in the mix as NSU aims for the women's first-ever team title.
 
"From the first day we stepped on the track, we've been trying to take it all," said Jackson, who trained without competition from March 2020 to this past March. "I really think we can win because we can amazing things in the sprints and the jumps and in the field.
 
"We've been close so many times, and everybody wants that ring. You just have to be confident no matter who is in your heat just fight to the finish and have faith. When we win the team title, that ring will go straight to my mom – that's her Mother's Day gift."
 
All of Jackson's golds have led to numerous other records and awards – SLC indoor records in the 400 and 4x400, NSU records in the 400 and 4x400, three-time Most Outstanding Indoor Performer and two-time Indoor Athlete of the Year.
 
But there's still more to mark off Jackson's college bucket list.
 
The Dekaney High product has competed on the NCAA Championships stage as part of a 4x400 relay (finished 22^nd for honorable mention All-American status).
 
But she hasn't competed on the national stage as an individual.
 
Jackson has competed at the NCAA East Preliminaries in each of the previous three seasons with her best finish being 18^th in the 400 (top 12 advance to nationals).
 
"It would be a blessing because I don't think people understand how hard it is to get to nationals, even regionals," Jackson said. "Just making it there would be the first step, after that you go for gold or just podium.
 
"We want everyone to know that NSU can run just like a big school and be up there with anybody. We go to competitions and people know who we are, and that says a lot about this program, coaches and athletes. It's our goal to be known as a Power 5 even if we're not on paper."
 
Jackson continues the NSU sprint legacy that mentors De'Shalyn Jones and Jermeka McBride among others helped create.
 
Now she wants to pass the torch to younger sprinters like Aarika Lister and Lynell Washington.
 
"From the moment I came here, De'Shalyn has been an amazing teammate and inspiration," Jackson said of Jones, who still owns NSU's 100 and 200 meter records and now coaches NSU's distance runners. "She told me not to let anybody put fear in your heart and to go out there and do your best.
 
"It's the same for Jermeka. I didn't understand the 200 race when I got here, but they helped me. They told me, 'Hey, we're counting on you to continue inspiring others.' I've always held that close to my heart, to continue what they started and keep the team going."
 
It's a sprint legacy that almost didn't start at NSU for Jackson.
 
The NSU commit posted two top-five times in the country late in her high school career, which brought bigger schools knocking on Jackson's door.
 
"We were waiting on her NLI (National Letter of Intent) to come back, and we were a little worried," said Pennington, who developed a relationship with Jackson much earlier in her high school career. "It took her awhile to get her papers in.
 
"The first time she forgot to date the papers when she sent them in. As fast as she runs, she's actually slow at everything else she does – she's usually the last one on the bus or out of the hotel. But she's usually the first to finish on the track, so we'll take that instead."