EUGENE, Oregon—During his two-year stint at Northwestern State, sprinter Zachaeus Beard has done it all.

Beard, a senior from Fellowship, reached the indoor nationals in 2023 as well as USA Track and Field indoor championships this February.

One accomplishment that eluded him as a junior is a trip to the outdoor nationals.

Beard made sure that feat would not elude him a second time, as he sprinted his way to the outdoor nationals in both the 100-meter dash and as part of the 4x100 relay with a sensational performance at the NCAA East Regions in Lexington this past Friday.

During regionals, he clocked a wind legal personal-best 10.04 in the 100 to finish third overall out of the 24 finalists fighting for 12 spots in nationals.

"It feels really good to go to nationals," Beard said. "I was just trusting in God and believing in myself. I knew I could do it."
 
"It makes it even more special that I am doing this as a senior. In my last year here, I told myself I have to go out with a bang."
 
Not only was his 100-meter dash time the third best in the heat, it was the third best time overall in the event, out of the 24 competitors.
 
Out of the top seven finishers, Beard was the only one who doesn't represent an SEC school.

"Facing off against great runners like I did at regionals, it always helps me bring my 'A' game," Beard said. "I feel like I am going to be better when I run right next to somebody. In the prelims and finals, I was always on the outside, so I hope I am more toward the middle at nationals."

To earn a spot in the regional finals, Beard ran a 10.27 to place fourth in the prelims.

If one spot in nationals wasn't enough, he did the same as part of the 4x100 relay team. Beard—along with Keontae Gaines, Mikkel Johansson and Cyrus Jacobs—clocked a season-best 39.28 to surge into nationals.

Both the men's 4x100 and women's 4x400 relay teams head to Eugene, matching 2018 NSU, which also had two relay teams at nationals.

"Our ultimate goal is to take it one round at a time, so to see Zach make it out in a region where you have to be very good is great to see," associate head coach Adam Pennington said. "Both regionals are extremely strong, but the East has a majority of the SEC schools, you have the Big Ten and ACC. You have to pretty much be one of the best in those conferences in order to make it out.

"So to see Zach do that and be able to finish third overall, coming out of that East region is very impressive, but at the same time, it is expected for a guy who has done what he has done this year and the way he has competed at the top meets and the way he has handled business when it's time to handle business."

The relay kicked off the running events during the final day of the men's events at regionals. The quartet finished in fifth of the heat, behind four SEC schools, all of which finished in the top six.

In his two seasons in Natchitoches, Beard has put his stamp on the NSU record books, reaching both the indoor and outdoor nationals and earning a spot in the USATF Indoor Championships, where he finished sixth.

After going to the indoor nationals once, as well as the USATF indoor championships and having to fight SEC schools for spots at the NCAA East Regionals, Pennington knows Beard is battle-tested for when he heads to nationals.

"The indoor season showed us where he was going to be at toward the end of the year because he got the opportunity to go to the USA Indoor Championships this year against some of the world's best and made the finals there," Pennington said. "So at this point, he has already seen some of the best of the best."

"Going into rounds like this, he is already very experienced and very mature and he is a guy who knows what he wants and he sets goals for himself and continues to reach those goals."

Prior to NSU, he was a four-time NAIA track and field All-American at Langston. He was the 60-meter dash national champion and national record holder in 2022, as well as the 100-meter dash national runner-up.

Following an impressive career in the NAIA, he was looking to move to Division I and was undecided before his father, former NSU football player Jarvis Blinks, recommended he give NSU a try.

"When transferring, my dad convinced me to come look at NSU," Beard said. "I was not even going to come look at Natchitoches, but he just told me to go look. Once I came, I liked what I saw and the rest is history."

Blinks was a was a defensive back on the football team for NSU from 1972-75, before being drafted in the 14th round by the expansion Seattle Seahawks in the 1976 NFL Draft.

Beard's decision could not have turned out any better—for both him and the Demons.

Fortunately for him, he will not be heading to Eugene alone, as Beard will be joined by two relay teams and thrower Diamante Gumbs.

He knows having that kind of support is huge for him, as he competes in both races in the championships.

"It helps having so many people there from NSU cheering me on," Beard said. "What a lot of people don't know is that back when I was in the NAIA, I used to travel to nationals by myself a lot, so going with somebody is always better.

"It ignites a new flame when you've got your teammates there cheering for you."

Beard has gone head-to-head with some of the world's best and has not flinched.

The senior uses that experience as he aims to become the first national champion from the school since Jasmyn Steels in 2019 and first outdoor national champion since Tracey Rew in 2011.