AUSTIN/SAN MARCOS, Texas—A trip to the state of Texas for these meets tend to bring out the best in athletes, as they make their annual trip to the prestigious Texas Relays on the campus of Texas and Bobcat Invitational on the campus of Texas State.

Northwestern State is competing in both meets Thursday through Saturday.

The Texas Relays begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday with the finishing of the decathlon and pentathlon events before starting the field events with the hammer throw at 11 a.m. The running events start at 4:30 p.m.

"We will kind of get an early measuring stick on things," head coach Mike Heimerman said. "We love trying to compete against the best, almost week in and week out, and for the most part we get to do that. Both meets will be very loaded and it will be fun to go and see where we are at against them."

The final two days of the meet are being broadcast on the SEC Network+ with the first day airing on the Longhorn Network.

At the Bobcat Invitational, the meet kicks off with the women's discus throw at 9 a.m., followed by the men. The running events start at 12:30 with the women's 100-meter hurdles.

The teams are fresh off a strong meet to begin the outdoor season at the Lurline Hamilton Invitational, which saw many athletes make their Northwestern State debuts as well as many veterans posting personal bests.

One of those personal bests was set by Maygan Shaw, who seemingly sets a new personal record every single meet she competes in.

Shaw not only leads the Southland Conference in the 400-meter dash (52.33) and as a member of both the 4x100 relay (45.06) and the 4x400 (3:36.03) teams, but she also ranks third in the NCAA in the 400, seventh in the NCAA in the 4x400 and 25th in the NCAA in the 4x100 relay.

Shaw and Tranasia Jones were members of the 4x400 relay team that broke the school and SLC record in their last trip to Austin for the Texas Relays. It smashed their previous school mark with a 3:32.67 and SLC mark, which was originally set by former SLC member UT-San Antonio (3:34.05) back in 1996.

In addition to the women leading the league in both relays, the men lead the conference in the 4x400 relay and are second in the 4x100.

Galen Loyd, who takes part in the 4x400, knows how beneficial it is to compete against talented runners every day at Northwestern State.

"Training with those guys is a lot," Loyd said. "But they keep me going. Any time I want to stop working out or if I feel like I am in a bit of pain here and there, they just remind me to keep going, and it has made me better. Iron sharpens iron and we push each other and make each other better."

The newcomers also made their presence felt, both freshmen and transfers alike.

Kalli Knott took over right where Madison Brown left off, as the graduate transfer from UConn matched a personal best in the pole vault, clearing 12-11.5, which is not only far and away the top mark in the conference, but tied for sixth in South Central region. All the top five in front of her are from power conference schools.

"In addition to Coach Alex (Wils), I think one of the reasons why Kalli came down here is that we have a history of good vaulters," Heimerman said. "For her first meet to open up that high is very good and we are very pleased and hopefully she can improve and build from there."

In addition to Shaw, Knott and the relay teams, Loyd (400), Randy Kelly (high jump), Shanice Hutson (shot put) and Teodora Samac (javelin) also rank in the top two in the conference.

"I feel proud of myself," Samac said. "I got a little bit nervous since they were really good, but I tried to give all of myself and try my best."

Following the meets, Northwestern State stays in-state for the Warhawk Classic, a two-day meet in Monroe that begins April 4.