JACKSONVILLE—Randy Kelly and the men's 4x100 relay each place in the top 20 to wrap up the men's meet for Northwestern State on Friday at the NCAA East First Round.

Kelly, competing four and a half and a half hours away from his hometown of Blythewood, South Carolina, cleared 6-10.75 to place 20^th.

That mark is tied for the third-best height this season for Kelly, who led the Southland with the best mark in the conference this season, a clearance of a personal-best 7-0.25 at the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational last month.

"I am extremely proud of Randy," jumps coach Alex Wills said. "He has been the heart and soul of this jump squad all year. I know he fell short of that big goal today, but he gave himself some really good chances at that qualifying bar and lifetime PR. That's something to definitely be proud of."

On the track, the 4x100 relay finished 19^th with a time of 39.78, just a half-second away from qualifying for nationals in Oregon.

Running in the final of three heats, the Demons held off ACC foe Virginia Tech, which ran a 39.82.

Fellow Southland school New Orleans was unable to finish the race.

"It was not the result we were looking for, but I am super proud of these guys," associate head coach Adam Pennington said. "All year they have continued to stay consistent. It was just not our day on the relay today."

To begin the day, Shakera Williams was not able to record a mark in the women's shot put, which had been pushed to Friday morning because of inclement weather Thursday evening.

The first round wraps up Saturday, as the women finish it off with Maygan Shaw (400-meter dash), Jaslyn Smith (triple jump), Shakera Kirk (discus) and 4x400 relay all participating for the Lady Demons.