By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
LEXINGTON, Ky.— Parkway product Will Achee made up for a frustrating 400 meter finish last Wednesday with a furious kick Friday night that carried him and three Northwestern State teammates to Eugene, Ore., in two weeks for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Achee’s charge down the final straightaway at the NCAA East Region meet was enough for a school 4×4 record with a time of 3:02.73 and qualification for the national meet.
Desmond Duncan, Kason Jones, Charlie Bartholomew and Will Achee became the first NSU men’s 4×400 relay to reach nationals since 2003. They ran in the first of three eight-team heats as one of 24 East Region qualifiers, and their time wound up 11th, just among the top 12 that go on to the national meet.
NSU also qualified Evangel product Roy Morris for the national championships in the men’s long jump, his second straight trip to Eugene, where he won All-America honors last year as a freshman. The Lady Demons’ Rushana Dwyer, a senior, is headed west as one of the East region’s 12 qualifiers in the 400 meters.
The only other North Louisiana qualifier was ULM freshman Francisco Calhau in the men’s hammer. He finished 10th with a 217-11 throw.
Louisiana Tech had three agonizing near-misses, each finishing one place shy of getting to Oregon.
The Bulldogs’ men’s 4×100 relay team broke a 39-year-old school record with a 39.05 time but it was 0.4 second back of 12th. Oscar Smith was one slot away in the 110 meter hurdles with his 13.55 mark just 0.2 back of the dozen heading to nationals. In the women’s 400 regional final, a 50.98 by Jamara Patterson was a heartbreaking 0.01 short of 12th.
The Demons’ 4×4 relay action ended happily but it took a rally and some anxious minutes waiting to see if their time would stay among the top 12.
Running anchor, Achee was in sixth place with about 100 yards remaining before he blew past Charlotte and nearly caught South Florida in fourth place.
“I’m just happy for the guys,” associate head coach Adam Pennington said. “In this meet you have to be at your best and they were.
“As for the race itself it was stressful to watch and wait (through the next two heats). The atmosphere in that (first) heat was unreal. It was one of the fastest and most competitive races I’ve ever been a part of. Overall, I’m proud of the record, but I’m even more excited about the opportunity to compete against the best in the country and see what we can do at nationals. This is a great moment for the program.”
The Demons will go to Eugene seeded 17th in the 24-team 4×400 field. The top 16 finishers earn All-America honors at the national meet June 10-13.
After setting the school record in each of his last two races, coming in with a best of 45.19, Achee had a subpar 400 meter run Wednesday and did not advance to the regional final after clocking 45.92. But his performance Friday night earned him his first flight to Oregon.
NSU’s Dwyer had a sensational stay in Lexington. Two nights after breaking the women’s 400 meter dash school record, she lowered her own record again and qualified for nationals Saturday night.
She advanced from the 48-runner first round Thursday night to the 24-woman regional finals by posting a 51.03 mark. Saturday, Dwyer roared to a 50.81 time, finishing second in her heat and eighth in the field, becoming one of the 12 East Region qualifiers.
Demon sophomore long jumper Morris soared 25-7 ½ Wednesday, a personal best, for a sixth-place regional finish that secured a return to Eugene.