COMMERCE, Texas—While once is nice, twice is even better.

Djimon Gumbs made a statement on his second throw and wouldn't let anyone wrestle the top spot away, as he won his second consecutive outdoor gold medal in the shot put Friday on the second day of the Southland Conference outdoor championships.

Gumbs, a junior from Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, tossed a 58-9.25 to win the gold, winning it by nearly a foot over McNeese's Marcus Francis.

"Although he won gold, I thought Djimon had a decent day in the shot," head coach Mike Heimerman said. "He fouled a couple big ones or else it could have been much better."

Twin brother Diamante Gumbs narrowly missed the podium, collecting a fourth-place finish with a throw of 54-2.75.

"You can't say enough about Diamante," Heimerman said. "He gutted out fourth place with a strained triceps muscle in his throwing arm."

Justin Craft and Tarajh Hudson rounded out the Demons in the shot put with a 48-0 and 46-6.25, placing 10^th and 12^th, respectively.

In the men's long jump, Andrew Gilreath claimed silver in a back-and-forth event. In eighth place heading into his last jump, he posted a clutch jump of 25-5.25 to move all the way into first. He was passed moments later by a huge jump of 25-8.75 from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Sean Majors.

Adam Lindo tallied a huge jump in his second attempt with a 25-2.75 to take the lead, one in which he led until the fifth round of throws. But he was tied by New Orleans' Christopher Murphy and the pair tied for third. The lead changed hands three times in the final two jumps.

"Andrew and Adam were great in the long jump," Heimerman said. "I am super proud of both for stepping up with big points."

After the second day, NSU is in second in the men with 35.5 points, trailing UIW's 91. The women are in fifth place with 38 points. Lamar is leading with 62 points.

Sanaria Butler led the way for the Lady Demons in the women's long jump, earning points for the Lady Demons by finishing fifth with a season-best 20-5.

Two more Lady Demons also posted season bests in the long jump, as Jaslyn Smith jumped a 19-4.25, good for 12^th place, and Victoria Byrd jumped a 17-8.75, which smashed her previous best of 15-6.25.

Three Lady Demons earned points in the women's shot put, as Deonmonique Granville (45.97), Carnitra Mackey (45-4.5) and Olivia Valliere (45-4.25) placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, with Valliere throwing a season best.

"Those ladies did well in the shot put," Heimerman said. "We are not where we wanted to be but still in a solid position for tomorrow."

Once again, the sprinters burned up the track. Butler and Maygan Shaw finished 1-2 in the women's 400-meters. Each won her heat, as Butler ran a 54.06 and Shaw a 54.09 to both earn a spot in Saturday's finals.

Destine-Unique Scott earned a spot in the men's 400 finals, placing second with a 47.60. Galen Loyd (48.31) and Desmond Duncan (48.79) narrowly missed qualifying, placing ninth and 10^th, respectively.

In the 100-meter hurdles, Vanessa Balde and Orsciana Beard each earned a spot in the finals, both running season bests. Balde finished first in the prelims with a time of 13.57 and Beard finished sixth with a 14.29.

On the men's side, Taj Morris' 14.08 placed sixth, which qualifies him for Saturday's finals.

Two qualified for the finals in the men's 100-meter dash and five posted season bests. Simon Wulff (10.37) placed fourth, while Dylan Swain (10.39) came in eighth and tied a season best in the event.

Also picking up season bests were Austin Simoneaux (10.52), Cyrus Jacobs (10.58), Kavacion Webster (10.62) and Mikkel Johansson (10.70).

Lynell Washington earned a spot in the women's 100 finals, finishing fifth with a time of 11.67. Three more Lady Demons posted season bests in the event, led by Aarika Lister, who nearly qualified with a 11.91, finishing 10^th. Sileena Farrell's 12.06 tied a season best, while Sian Weller ran a 12.21 in her first 100-meter of the season.

"Lynell really stepped up for us," Heimerman said. "She really hasn't ran outdoors or even practiced much but wanted to contribute for her team."

John Klein earned three points for the Demons with a time of 10:07.33 in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

Freshman Ceyda Bayur qualified for the finals in the women's 800-meter run, clocking a season-best 2:16.13, placing seventh.

On the men's side, Stefan Klefasz (1:55.17) placed 12^th and Korbin Shumate (1:57.63) placed 17^th.

NSU returns to action Saturday as the teams wrap up the SLC outdoor championships at Commerce. The day begins with the field events, starting with the women's discus at noon. The running events begin at 5:35 with the women's 4x100-meter relay.

"We have a lot of kids qualified for finals and some good field events tomorrow," Heimerman said. "We just have to go out and get after it and we will see what happens. I like our chances, but there is a lot of work left to do."