NATCHITOCHES – Track and field excellence provides the latest tough choice in the "Demon Delights" contest spotlighting Northwestern State's top 2014-15 sports highlights as Jalan West's monumental junior season for the Demon basketball team moves forward from the second of eight opening-round matchups ending at midnight Friday.
 
Voters at NSUDemons.com have a pair of nationally-noteworthy NSU field event performers to consider in the latest pairing with the deadline at 11:59 Sunday night for the third opening-round contest.
Aaron Williams swept the Southland Conference indoor long and triple jump championships, was named conference men's indoor field events Athlete of the Year, and won All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a 14^th-place finish in the long jump. He was redshirted outdoors.

Ashley Aldredge completed an incredible comeback to win the Southland Conference title and reach the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the javelin. She overcame Tommy John elbow surgery in 2012, became a mother before earning her undergraduate degree with a 3.57 grade point average, and bounced back to competitive form during the 2015 outdoor season, following her win at the Southland meet by earning her first trip to the national championships, where she was an honorable mention All-American with a 19^th-place finish.

Both athletes return for their senior seasons in 2016.

West's fantastic junior season, in which the Demons' junior point guard led the NCAA in assists (7.7 per game), ranked 16th in individual scoring (20 points pg), and sparked the NSU basketball team to the NCAA scoring title (84 ppg) and a postseason tournament appearance with a 19-13 record was the voters' choice in the latest completed matchup. It topped another milestone season for Lady Demon tennis, which made its third NCAA Tournament appearance of the decade by winning the Southland Conference Tournament under first-year head coach Olga Bazhanova.
 
Sixteen top achievements, dubbed "Demon Delights," have been chosen from a field of almost 30 nominees and paired in eight first-round voting matchups. In each, fans visiting NSUDemons.com will have 48 hours to choose their favorite, advancing it to the quarterfinals, and potentially forward to the semifinals, with winners in those rounds selected in a 36-hour span. The finalists will be open for voting for two days with the "2014-15 Demon Delight of the Year" set on Aug. 3, a day before the NSU football team reports to open preseason camp under third-year coach Jay Thomas.
 
Fan vote in the first opening-round matchup advanced the Lady Demon volleyball team's season, which included an upset of 15^th-ranked Missouri in September and culminated with a Southland Conference Tournament win and NCAA Tournament appearance. That accomplishment will be paired against West's feats in the first quarterfinal contest on July 23.
 
 
The 16 "Demon Delights" of 2014-15 up for fan vote over the next month:


·         After upsetting No. 15 Missouri earlier, Lady Demon volleyball rides homecourt advantage, wins first-ever Southland tourney title, NCAA berth (advances to quarterfinals  by fan vote)
·         Sophomore swingman Zeek Woodley, second in NCAA scoring race, is Southland Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year
 
·         Junior point guard Jalan West leads nation in assists and Demon basketball leads nation in scoring, reaches postseason play, finishes 19-13 (advances to quarterfinals  by fan vote)
·         Women's tennis wins Southland tourney title, goes to NCAA Tournament for third time in six years
 
·         After sweeping the Southland Indoor long and triple jump crowns, Aaron Williams wins indoor track & field All-America honors in long jump
·         Ashley Aldredge's amazing comeback culminates when she reaches NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the javelin
 
·         Cort Brinson's school-record 29-game hitting streak helps earn him Southland Baseball Hitter of Year and Student-Athlete of the Year
·         Demon baseball takes a series at Notre Dame (RPI of 40) for the first series win over a Power Five team since 2002
 
·         Demon football team scores 20 points in fourth quarter to beat Louisiana Tech
·         Senior cornerback Imoan Claiborne, junior receiver/returner Ed Eagan win FCS All-America honors
 
·         Imoan Claiborne plays in Senior Bowl; defensive tackle Deon Simon leads DL in bench presses at NFL Combine; Simon goes in NFL Draft, Claiborne signs free agent deal
·         Zach Adkins caps record-shattering two years as Demon QB as NSU sets 30 new school records, 14 to his credit
 
·         Daniel Hazlewood, Jackie Strug sweep of Southland Citizenship Awards, NSU also grabs inaugural "Southland Strong" Community Service Award
·         Lady Demon basketball wins a second straight Southland tourney title, and another NCAA berth behind Janelle Perez, tourney MVP Beatrice Attura
 
·         Softball dominates Southland season to claim first regular season title since 2000; Donald Pickett is Southland Coach of the Year
·         Outfielder Kellye Kincannon earns All-South Region honors, is named Southland Student-Athlete of the Year