The Real News Louisiana

FORT WORTH—The Northwestern State track and field teams gear up for one final tune-up prior to the Southland Conference championships, as they head to TCU for the Horned Frog Invite.
The one-day meet is Saturday at the Lowdon Track and Field Complex.
“We’re hoping for some good wind, so we can get some qualifying times for regionals in the 200 and maybe the 100,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “We didn’t run that stuff at LSU because we knew we weren’t going to have favorable winds, so we’re going to focus on them and hopefully we’ll get some favorable winds in the throws and jumps to get some big marks and qualify more kids for regionals.”
The meet begins at 8 a.m. with the men’s hammer, followed by the women’s hammer. The running events start at 9:30 a.m. with the women’s 5000-meter run, followed by the men’s 5000.
In the previous meet for Northwestern State at the LSU Alumni Gold, both Maygan Shaw and the men’s 4×400 relay set school records, and in Shaw’s case, a SLC record in the 400-meter dash.
Shaw, the SLC Female Track Athlete of the Week, clocked a 51.19 in the 400, destroying her previous best, which was also a Southland record, of 51.87, set at the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational on April 12.
The senior leads the Southland in the 200-meter dash (23.37), 400-meter dash (51.19) and as a member of the 4×400 relay team (3:31.82) and is second in the 100-meter dash (11.53) and as a part of the 4×100 relay (44.94).
Three of her times—400 (fourth), 4×400 relay (sixth) and the 4×100 relay (10th)—are ranked in the top 10 in the South Central Region.
On the other hand, the men’s 4×400 relay has had a strong season, but has turned it on in recent meets, as the relay has clocked a season best in each of the last three meets, including the school record set in Baton Rouge.
That time is the top mark in the conference by a wide margin, as it is the only 4×400 relay team to have run below 3:09.00 this season, and one of only two to have run under 3:10.00.
The time is also No. 8 in the South Central Region, and one of only two from a non-power school, joining in-state school UL Lafayette, which is ranked sixth.
One of the members of the relay, Vincente Graiani, took home the SLC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week for the second time this season and first in the outdoor season.
Not only was he huge in the relay, but he also set a personal best in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:49.44, the second-best mark in program history despite not having run the 800 in college before this season.
“Vince came here as a 400-meter runner and he’s only run the 800 twice for us this year,” Heimerman said. “He’s got a really big tank. He can do repetitive work and not get tired, so that is when Coach (Adam) Pennington said he thinks he can run the 800.
“He can run the second 400 about as fast as he can run the first 400 and if you can do that, you are really, really good. That record is in his eyes for conference. Vince is something else and he loves working and wants to get better all the time.”
Two athletes who have made tremendous strides from 2024 to 2025 are sprinter Sileena Farrell and javelin thrower Joseph Yount.
Farrell has built on her bronze medal she earned at the indoor meet in March in the 60-meter dash, as she has run every single 100-meter dash under the 12-second mark after not doing that once all of 2024.
“I think the biggest reason for my improvement is having more confidence and believing in myself,” Farrell said. “It really helped having Coach Adam by my side since my freshman year since I struggled the first two years with injuries. This year, we really sat down and worked through a program and changed a bit to see what fit me better.”
The junior is coming a personal best performance in the 100-meter dash, running an 11.56 in Baton Rouge, which is third in the Southland and only trailing Shaw among Lady Demon sprinters. She also joins Shaw in the 4×100 relay, which currently ranks second in the conference.
Another is Yount, a sophomore from Many, who is coming off his best performance of the season. In Baton Rouge, he threw a 201-10 at the LSU Alumni Gold, his first toss of at least 200 feet after being so close in a number of meets before. That mark is good for seventh in the Southland this season.
Yount nearly reached the 200-foot mark at the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational, tossing a 199-8 to finish second in the event at the home meet. He also threw a 192-0 at the Lurline Hamilton Invitational.
“It feels wonderful to finally hit that 200-mark,” Yount said. “That is one mark that I was striving to hit all year.”
This year, every meet his throws have exceeded his top toss last year and is excited due to all the work he put in over the offseason.
“One of the big things for me is to get a little bit stronger,” he said. “But the major thing I worked on is flexibility. I really worked on that in the offseason to make sure I was hitting the right positions and getting more flexible, and I think that is really improved my throws.”
Yount finished fifth in the javelin at the outdoor in 2024 and aims to make it onto the podium this season.
In addition to Northwestern State, other teams taking part in the meet are Abilene Christian, Jacksonville College, Nelson University, Oklahoma, UT Arlington, Wichita State and fellow Southland members New Orleans and Stephen F. Austin.
Following the meet, Northwestern State takes a week off prior to heading to Houston for the SLC Outdoor Championships, beginning May 15.