BATON ROUGE—After a three-week break following another women's Southland Conference indoor championship, the Northwestern State track & field teams are back in action for the outdoor season.

The teams don't have to go out of the state of Louisiana for the opening outdoor meet, as the teams travel to Baton Rouge for the Lurline Hamilton Invitational, a one-day meet Saturday.

"The athletes got a few days off since indoor season ended," head coach Mike Heimerman said. "Then we brought them back and we started training again, which is kind of nice since we don't have to go to a specific track because that is what we run on everywhere we go—a flat, 400-meter track."

The field events begin with the women's hammer throw at 10:30 a.m with the men's hammer following it at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium, while the running events begin with the first 4x100 relay of the season at 1 p.m.

Like normal, the 4x400 relay team will wrap up the meet, with a tentative start time of 3:55 p.m.

Louisiana schools dominate the field, as besides LSU and Northwestern State, they are joined by fellow Pelican State schools Grambling, Louisiana Tech, New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana and Southern, as well as South Alabama.

The Lady Demons were led by Maygan Shaw at the SLC meet, who earned a spot on the podium at the outdoor conference in three events, including golds in the 400-meter dash and the 4x400 relay. For her efforts, she was named the female outstanding runner of the year.

A trio of members of the Northwestern State team were awarded honors by the conference, led by Shaw's award.

Dynia Lewis was named female co-newcomer of the year after a silver in the 60-meter hurdles and fourth-place finish in the 60-meter dash and head coach Mike Heimerman was named women's coach of the year after leading the women to their third straight indoor title.

"The progress I made this indoor season has given me a huge confidence boost," Lewis said. "Last year, my PR was 8.80, and I finished this season with an 8.41. That alone speaks volumes. I set a new personal best in the hurdles at every indoor meet, so I have no doubt that outdoor season will bring even more PRs."

She is ready to begin her first outdoor season with Northwestern State after a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles at the outdoor conference meet at the SWAC Championships last season.

"For my opener, my main goal is to execute to the best of my ability," Lewis said. "Since we're transitioning from five hurdles to 10, I'm not entirely sure what to expect, but I'm confident it will go well. My speed and rhythm tend to improve after hurdle four, so I'll be able to teach top-end speed."

The men were fueled by newcomers with two of the biggest stars so far being freshmen: Roy Morris, William Achee and Bruce Boon.

Achee was the freshman star on the men's side, reaching the podium twice, including a gold as a member of the 4x400 relay team. He ran the anchor leg in the relay, making up ground to come through with the gold for the Demons.

The freshman from Bossier City also came through with a silver medal in the 400-meter dash.

Morris found the podium in the long jump, recording a season-best 24-6.5 to take home the bronze medal. Throughout the entire indoor season, he finished in the top seven in all five of his meets, including four in the top five, culminating with a bronze at the SLC Championships.

"It speaks volumes about the assistant coaches who brought these freshmen in," Heimerman said. "Roy was a great athlete coming out of high school and he is going to be an exceptional athlete here. Bruce has the guts and determination and his brother was a good decathlete for a Division I school and Bruce will follow in those same footsteps.

"Ryah has come on and could be one of the best throwers who has ever walked through Northwestern State. Also, Jayla Mason in the 400-meter dash is a little overshadowed. She is probably one of the fastest freshmen we've ever had in the 400, but she is sitting fifth on the depth chart, which tells you how good the 400 group is here. Keep an eye on her because she is going to be a special one down the road."

Following the meet, Northwestern State heads to the state of Texas prestigious Texas Relays for a four-day event, beginning Wednesday in Austin, as well as heading off to Texas State.