NATCHITOCHES—Two times ranked in the top 15 nationally in events turns heads.

And earns awards.

Northwestern State sprinters Sanaria Butler and Keontae Gaines collected the Southland Conference Men's and Women's Track Athletes of the Week.

Butler ran a blistering 52.80 in the 400-meter dash at the Keyth Talley Invitational, which is the 11th-best mark in the NCAA and tops in the Southland Conference this outdoor season.

The sophomore was also a part of the 4x400 relay team that ran a 3:36.04, which is the 10th-best time in the NCAA and No. 1 in the Southland, ranking the second-best in program history.

On the men's side, Gaines ran a 10.24 in the 100-meter dash in Baton Rouge this past weekend, tied for ninth in the NCAA. His 20.80 time in the 400 also ranks in the top 35 nationally. Both times lead the Southland Conference.

He was also part of the 4x100 relay team that leads the SLC with a time of 39:89.

These are the first weekly awards during the outdoor season for NSU, but second overall for both Butler and Gaines in 2024 after winning an indoor weekly award.

Butler is the third women's athlete to win the SLC Female Track Athlete of the Week award twice, joining Texas A&M-Commerce's Kiara Brown and New Orleans' Sophia Wolf.

NSU heads out of the state of Louisiana for the first time during the outdoor season, as the track and field teams travel to Texas for the Texas Relays and Bobcat Invitational on Thursday.