NATCHITOCHES—A dominant performance in the Southland Conference Championships has its perks.

One of those perks for the Northwestern State women's back-to-back track and field champions is sweeping the superlative awards, the league announced Thursday.

In addition to head coach Mike Heimerman being named the women's track and field coach of the year, which was chosen at the conclusion of the conference meet, Samari Finney (women's athlete), Maygan Shaw (women's track) and Raven-Symone Jarrett (women's field) all took home superlative awards.

Finney, a junior from Detroit, transferred to Northwestern State prior to the 2024 season and she has been a part of four conference team championships in four appearances.

She made the podium five times, including three gold medals. Overall, she secured 27 total points during the SLC Championships. Finney started her meet off with a gold in the long jump, recording a jump of a season-best 20-9.25 on her final jump, which not only earned her the gold, but also a trip to Jacksonville for the NCAA East Prelims.

Finney also added golds as a member of both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, which earned her 2.5 points each. She started the running events on the final day of competition with a 44.88 in the 4x100 and wrapped it up with a 4x400 gold, running a 3:35.91.

If those weren't enough, she added bronze medals in both the 200 and 400, which scored her six points each to push her point total to 27. In the 400, she ran a personal-best 54.05 to finish third, while she also finished third with a 23.98 in the 200.

Finney wasn't the only Lady Demon to score at least 20 points at the conference meet, as star sprinter Maygan Shaw posted four gold medals to collect 25 points.

Shaw joined Finney on both relay teams to collect five points and Shaw added individual golds in both the 200 and 400, being pushed to the end in both events.

In her signature event, the 400, she clocked a blistering 52.10, holding off Southeastern Louisiana's Onyah Onyinye Favour, to claim the gold, her second outdoor 400 gold in three seasons. In her four years, Shaw never finished lower than second in the outdoor 400.

Shaw added a 200 gold, clocking a 23.47, edging out Jizzale Davis of UTRGV, who ran a 23.70.

She led the SLC in both the 200 and 400 in the entire outdoor season in the SLC, as well as a member of the 4x400 relay, and was second in both the 100 and 4x100 relay.

On the field side, Jarrett earned the SLC Women's Field Athlete of the Year after a conference meet in which she shattered the school record in the heptathlon to earn the gold.

In the heptathlon, the senior from New Britain, Connecticut, finished in the top five in five of the seven events, including two first-place finishes in the 100-meter hurdles (13.76) and a personal best in the 800-meter run (2:20.13).

Jarrett also reached the podium in the 100 hurdles, running a 13.81 to claim the bronze, as well as making the finals in the 400-meter hurdles.

Northwestern State was one of two schools to have multiple awards, as East Texas A&M's Ibrahim Fuseini won both the male athlete of the year and male most outstanding track performer.
 
Men's Athlete of the Year - Ibrahim Fuseini, East Texas A&M
Men's Most Outstanding Track Performer - Ibrahim Fuseini, East Texas A&M
Men's Most Outstanding Field Performer - Marcus Francis, McNeese
 
Women's Athlete of the Year - Samari Finney, Northwestern State
Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer - Maygan Shaw, Northwestern State
Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer - Raven-Symone Jarrett, Northwestern State