By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Evangel alumnus Roy Morris hopes to rekindle the East Regional magic that sent him toward All-America honors last spring for the Northwestern State track and field team.
His NSU teammate, Parkway product Will Achee, aims to run to form as one of the top 10 seeds in the 400 meter dash to earn a ticket to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in two weeks.
Louisiana Tech competitors Oscar Smith and Cobe Johnson are strong contenders to reach the national meet with top 12 finishes in their events.
They headline nearly four dozen entries from Northwestern and Tech who have qualified for the NCAA East Region Championships beginning today and running through Saturday at the University of Kentucky.
The 48 top marks in each individual event, and the top 24 in relays, qualified for the regional. The top 12 finishers in each event move on to the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 10-13 at Oregon’s Hayward Field.
Fifteen NSU men are joined by 18 Lady Demons, giving Northwestern a 33-person entry list topped only by LSU’s 36 competitors among state schools. Louisiana Tech is third with 15 total qualifiers among the men and women combined, and UL-Lafayette is fourth with 13.
Men’s competition is today and Friday. Women hit the track Thursday and Saturday. All four days are being streamed on ESPN+.
Smith will compete in the 110 meter hurdles today after running a 13.50 in the Jim Mize Invitational. It is the 12th fastest in the qualifying field.
Johnson soared on his final long jump attempt at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships, leaping a personal best 25-9 ½ or gold. It is the 13th longest jump in the field.
With his best of 25-4 1/2 that won the Southland Conference long jump, Morris is the 23rd-ranked regional qualifier. He and Johnson jump today at 5 o’clock.
Last year, Morris finished 15th at the NCAA Outdoors with a 24-7 ¾ mark, after navigating through rainy weather at the East Region for a ninth-place finish (24-8 ½) that earned him his trip to the national meet.
“When you’re an All-American as a freshman, of course you want to make it every year, which is a very tough task,” Demons’ coach Mike Heimerman said. “To make it to nationals is super tough, so Roy puts a lot of pressure on himself to be an All-American again.
“He is super talented and can jump much further. He just has to allow himself to do it and stay relaxed enough to do it. There’s a fine line with every athlete — having the capability to do it and allowing yourself to do it. That is where he’s at right now. He just has to relax, and he just has to do the things that he needs to do to allow himself to be an eight-meter jumper (26-3) because he is an eight-meter jumper.”
The long jump national qualifiers will be identified tonight as the 48-man field is whittled to the top 12.
In the running events, the field of 48 will be cut in half to run in Friday’s regional finals/national quarterfinals, where a dozen will survive and reach Eugene June 10-13.
Achee, also a sophomore for Northwestern, is the highest-seeded north Louisiana competitor, with his 400 dash time of 45.19 standing 10th. He runs at 6:25 today, hoping to move on to a Friday evening regional final at the same time.
Five other NSU male entries are in the top 30 regionally.
Achee is among four Demons combining to rank 19th in the 4×400 relay with a 3:04.45 time.
The NSU 4×100 relay is 26th at 39.22. High jumper Randy Kelly, who has cleared 7-0 ½, ranks 22nd regionally. Joining Achee in the 400 field is teammate Charlie Bartholomew, 27th regionally with a 45.62 clocking.
Tech’s 4×100 relay squad is 30th regionally at 39.26.