NATCHITOCHES—Three Northwestern State events rank in the top 15 nationally, including two in the top 10, in rankings by USTFCCCA.

NSU has two—the men's 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash—rank in the top 10 and one more, the 400-meter dash, is just outside at No. 11.

"Being ranked in anything top 10 of NCAA is special, associate head coach Adam Pennington said. "It is still early in the season but it's a reflection of the hard work, discipline, and commitment this group has put in day in and day out.

"This ranking is recognition, but it's also responsibility. It means we have standard to live up to. Every rep, every meet, every opportunity matters even more now. I think we've have proven we belong with the best in the country on the sprints side, and that should fuel our confidence moving forward."

At the same time, this is just a checkpoint, not the finish line and we still have a lot of work to get done to reach the end goal.

The 100 is ranked second in the nation, only trailing LSU.

The way the ranking is done is by collecting the four with the top times on the team and taking the average of those four.

LSU is No. 1 at 10.27, while the Demons are tied for second with Minnesota with 10.31.

The four top times for NSU were ran by Kalen Beavers (10.20), Keontae Gaines (10.32), Koen Bevers (10.35) and Antoine Evans (10.35).

In addition to the 100, the 200 is also ranked in the top 10, coming in at No. 7.

In the event, Kalen Beavers (20.72), Elijah Rowe (20.97), William Achee (21.11) and Eddy Vu (21.14) average a time of 20.98.

The Demons are second among non-power conference schools and fourth among non-SEC schools.

Ranking just outside the top 10 is the men's 400 group, coming in at No. 11, which is second in the Southland Conference, only behind UTRGV.

The four top times for NSU were ran by Will Achee (46.95), Charlie Bartholomew (46.96), Desmond Duncan (47.76) and Kason Jones (47.94).

NSU is off to the University of Florida for the Pepsi Florida Relays, a two-day event starting Friday.