By: Jonathon Zenk, Assistant Director of Communications
NATCHITOCHES—A sensational performance at the Southland Conference Championships earned
Kalen Beavers more accolades.
Beavers, a junior from Carencro, was rewarded for his MVP performance at the conference indoor me, as he was voted both the men's track and the men's player of the year.
On the final day of competition in Birmingham, he won both the 60 and 200-meter dashes.
In the men's 60, he was a part of a Demon sweep, as he ran a 6.71 to claim gold. He followed that up with a blistering 200 time of 21.05 to earn the gold.
With him winning a pair of golds, he earned first team all-conference selections twice. He is one of six to earn first team honors and the only one to NSU athlete to win a pair of individual gold medals and the lone man to do it at the conference meet, which earned him the SLC Indoor Championship Men's MVP.
In both events, he was joined by teammates, including the sweep in the 60.
Eddy Vu ran a 6.72 to earn second team and
Keontae Gaines' 6.75 earned him a spot on the third team.
Gaines also joined Beavers on the podium in the 200, as Gaines ran a 21.15 to earn second team accolades.
Along with Beavers,
Roy Morris also took home a gold to earn first team honors on the men's side in the long jump, posting a 24-9.75.
On the women's side,
Rushana Dwyer (400-meter dash),
Dynia Lewis (60-meter hurdles),
Samari Finney (long jump) and the 4x400 relay all made it on the first team.
In the 400, Dwyer broke the Southland and meet record with a blazing time of 52.88, breaking the conference record set by
Maygan Shaw last season.
Even with that, she had to edge out Onyah Onyinye Favour by a hair to win the gold and a spot on the first team.
Joining Dwyer on the 400 podium was bronze medalist
Margaret Conteh, running a 53.79.
Dwyer also was a member of the women's 4x400 relay team that won another gold to claim a first team selection, as Dwyer, Conteh,
Kahliyah Anderson and
Dhakiya Blake clocked a time of 3:40.74, winning it by nearly two full seconds.
To start out the final day,
Dynia Lewis took home the gold in the 60-meter hurdles to earn a first team spot, sprinting to a time of 8.42.
The last gold medalist and first team selection for NSU was
Samari Finney, who dominated in the women's long jump.
Finney, a senior from Detroit, completed the long jump gold medal sweep for NSU, recording a jump of 19-8.75 to win the gold and a first team spot by nearly a foot.
Sileena Farrell continued a sensational season with a silver in the 60-meter dash to earn a second team honor.
On the men's side, the Demons had several second team selections. In the men's 400,
Will Achee ran a 47.67, narrowly missing out on the first team.
Joining him on the podium was
Desmond Duncan, who ran a 47.21 to claim third team.
Achee and Duncan, along with
Kason Jones and
Mikkel Johansson ran a 3:11.16 to earn the second team all-conference.
Randy Kelly (high jump),
Marquis Butler (triple jump) and
Donroy Brown (shot put) also earned second team selections on the men's side in the field.
On the women's side,
Ryah Dates (shot put) and
Thea Ring (pentathlon) also earned third team selections.