BIRMINGHAM, Alabama—Heading into the final event of the Southland Conference Indoor Championships, all that stood between the Northwestern State women's track & field team and its elusive first team title was a successful showing in one of its best events.

While the NSU women didn't win that event, the 4x400-meter relay team did what it needed to do—finish ahead of Lamar and UIW—to capture its first ever women's team title at the SLC Indoor Championships on Monday at the Birmingham Crossplex.

"It feels great to finally get one," head coach Mike Heimerman said. "It is like a monkey off our back. This is a very young group and it shows they have a ton of confidence. I am really excited for what is to come."

The quartet of Sian Weller, Sanaria Butler, Maygan Shaw and Vanessa Balde finished second in the event with a time of 3:45.50, only bested by Texas A&M-Commerce's season-best performance.

"We knew we were gassed due to our athletes having competed already that day," Heimerman said. "But I would not have wanted anyone else out there to try to secure a championship. I knew if they were to run a decent time, I knew we had it."

Heading into the final event, NSU was tied with UIW and Lamar for the most points with 103, leading to a winner-take-all 4x400.

NSU finished with 111 points, while Lamar came in second with 107 and UIW came in third with 103.

The Lady Demons had come in the top three in the past six seasons, but never could break through and win it—until Monday.

On the men's side, the Demons came in second with 104 points, only trailing UIW's 143.5, which repeats as the conference champion.

Once again, Lynell Washington was a star for the Lady Demons, winning a pair of golds, one each in the 60-meters and 200-meters.

Washington was one of three NSU athletes to earn points in the women's 200-meters, all finishing in the top five. The junior, who ran a 23.90 to win the event, was joined by Vanessa Balde with a personal-best time of 24:14 (3^rd place) and Maygan Shaw's 24.37 (5^th).

While Washington's 60-meter time of 7.39 did not top Sunday's blazing time of 7.32, it was enough for her to earn the gold. Aarika Lister finished just off the medal stand with a 7.58, but still recorded five points in the event.

"Lynell has really bought in," Heimerman said. "She worked really hard this past offseason. Prior to this offseason, she never really worked as hard in the offseason as a track athlete should. This is the first year she has really done that and it showed."

Maygan Shaw saw Washington win a few golds and thought it looked fun, so the sophomore took home the top spot, earning a 400-meter victory with a time of 54.97. Butler captured the bronze with a time of 55.16.

Balde and Orsciana Beard finished in the top four in the 60-meter hurdles. Each athlete recorded a personal best, as Balde's time of 8.63 earned her the silver medal, while Beard's 8.88 finished fourth.

On the men's side on the track, Destine-Unique Scott and Canman Swain each had strong days.

In the 400-meters, Scott posted an indoor personal best time of 47.05 earned him a silver medal. Scott also earned a silver in the 200-meters, running a 21.20.

Swain ran an indoor personal best time of 21.33 in the 400-meters, which landed him in fourth place. He also ran a personal-best time of 6.70 in the 60-meters, which earned him a silver medal.

Zachaeus Beard placed fourth in the 400-meters with a time of 6.76.

In the 800-meters, Korbin Shumate placed fifth with a time of 1:59.42. Taj Morris posted a personal-best time of 8.10, ranking fifth.

In the field, the shot put was kind to both the men's and the women's teams, as both teams had three athletes record points.

Djimon Gumbs secured the gold medal in the shot put, tossing a 62-2.25, which is the best mark in the conference this season. His twin brother Diamante Gumbs placed third with a distance of 55-2.75. Justin Craft recorded a personal best distance of 50-5.5, which finished tied for seventh.

On the women's side Deanmonique Granville (43-8.5), Carnitra Mackey (43-8.5) and Olivia Valliere (43-1) placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, to all earn points in the shot put.

Andrew Gilreath earned a goal medal in the men's triple jump with a distance of 50-0.75, which is an indoor high.

"Andrew has flown a bit under-the-radar," Heimerman said. "He had 18 points for us and down a few athletes, he was one of the athletes who really stepped up and had a great showing."

Sanaria Butler (39-11.25) and Orsciana Beard (37-9.5) both earned points in the women's triple jump, placing third and eighth, respectively. Jaslyn Smith placed 10^th with a distance of 37-8.

Maison Wilbanks (5-1) and Abria Paul (4-11) each posted personal bests in the women's high jump, placing 11^th and 14th respectively.