WALNUT/AZUSA, Calif.—Two weeks ago, the Northwestern State track and field teams traveled to the East coast for the Florida Relays.

Now, many athletes are traveling to the West coast for a pair of meets in the state of California.

NSU heads to the Golden State for the Mt. San Antonio College Relays and Bryan Clay Invitational with each being a two-day meet beginning Friday.

The meets give the teams another chance to see some of the best athletes in the country with this time being against a number of schools on the left coast.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these student-athletes," head coach Mike Heimerman said. "I bet 90 percent of them have never been to California. Coach Pennington and I have been talking, and we want to give the kids an experience every two years because we have many athletes for two seasons, so we want to give them an experience during those two years here.

"Being at two meets, we will be able to get multiple competitions. It gets these players used to the travel since we'll be going to Kentucky for regionals and then hopefully Oregon for nationals. We'll be able to do some site-seeing in California and be able to see the Santa Monica Pier. A lot of these kids have never been west of Texas, so it is an experience and that is what we're trying to do. They come out here and bust their butts every day and do good work in the classroom, so we reward them."

The running events at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays start with the women's 4x100 relays Friday at 1 p.m., while the women's high jump kicks off the field events at 11 a.m.

At the Bryan Clay Invitational, the track events start at 9 a.m. with the 1,000-meter run on the men's side Friday and the field events start at 1 p.m. with the women's hammer throw.

In addition to the meets in California, some are competing closer to home, taking part in the Jim Mize Invitational on the campus of Louisiana Tech.

That meet takes place Friday with the men's javelin kicking the meet off at 9 a.m., while the track events start at noon with the women's 4x100 relay.

The last time many of the athletes competed was at the Florida Relays, a meet in which the sprinters excelled against some top competition.

To show how sensational NSU was at the Florida Relays, of the 12 events the school leads the Southland Conference in, six of those top marks were set in Florida. It was even better for the sprinters, as of the seven leaders in the conference on the track, five of them were recorded in Florida.

"Coach Adam (Pennington) has done a phenomenal job with these kids," Heimerman said. "They really buy into what he is saying and they do really well. Every day in practice it is like being at a meet because they are so deep at every event that it is a competition every day, even at practice."

Will Achee, a sophomore from Bossier City, is a part of two of those league-leading events, leading the Southland in the 400-meter dash and as a member of the 4x400 relay team.

The Parkway High product ran a 46.07 in the 400, which is one of the best times in school history in the event.

The sophomore loves the competition in Florida and is looking forward to some more top competition in California.

"It's great to compete against the best because I know I'll see some of them at regionals," Achee said. "Seeing them in these meets lets me know that I can compete with them, and we prove we belong there."

He has had a strong start to the season, carrying momentum from a terrific indoor campaign, one that saw him pick up a conference weekly award.

While Achee leads the way in the 400 for the men's sprinters, he has been helped out by transfer sprinter Charlie Bartholomew. His 46.33 in the event is second in the Southland and is a member of the 4x400 relay team with Achee.
But his impact goes way beyond his production on the track.

"He brings a lot of experience," Heimerman said. "He has given Will a lot of insight and is a great training partner for him. What helped us get Charlie is that he only had an outdoor season left. He brings knowledge, helping out a lot of the younger guys and some of the older ones as well. I think he has helped Desmond Duncan out a lot, trying to re-enforce some of the things Coach Pennington is talking about in how to run that 400-meter race. He has helped out a ton, not only as an athlete, but also as an athlete-coach."

On the throws side, Margaret Mannering (women's hammer) is one of three Lady Demons to lead the throws events, joining Teodora Samac (women's javelin) and Eliska Zahradnickova (women's discus).

A freshman from Italy, she has been becoming more comfortable in Natchitoches with each week that passes, and with that, more confidence.

"It's been a journey," Mannering said. "First, I had to get used to the time difference and then the training is a lot different to what I am used to back home. The indoor season didn't go so well for me with getting used to the weight. Now, in the outdoor season, my confidence is building meet-after-meet and my performance shows that too, to be honest."

Following the meets, NSU heads back to Baton Rouge for the LSU Alumni Gold, a one-day event that takes place April 25 for the second-to-last outdoor meet prior to the SLC Championships from May 14-16.