By: Jonathon Zenk, Assistant Director of Communications


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GAINESVILLE, Fla.—On Friday, the 4×400 relay took center stage for Northwestern State.

On Saturday, it was the individual 400-meter dash.

Rushana Dwyer and Margaret Conteh ran massive personal bests for the women, with Dwyer having the second-best time in the event in school history.

For the men, Will Achee ran a massive personal-best 46.07, which is the top mark in the Southland, No. 5 in the NCAA East and top 10 nationally.

Those performances led a strong final day at the Pepsi Florida Relays on the campus of the University of Florida.

“It was a great day at the track today led by our 400 group,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “They did a phenomenal job. Rushana lead the way on the women’s side. That’s a all-time PR for her so 52 is a phenomenal time. I think she was the fastest collegiate today at the meet which was very impressive so that’s I think that is No. 2 all-time here, only behind Megan, so it was phenomenal day by her. She looks so smooth and she made it look kind of effortless, which is crazy. It’s even crazier as I think she’s got a little bit more left in where she can even run faster.”

Dwyer ran a 51.59, besting her previous best by more than a half-second, to place second in the event out of 46 competitors.

Not only is her time second in program history, but it also slides into the top 10 nationally and puts her in great position to earn a spot at the NCAA East First Round.

Conteh clocked a 52.76, which is in the top 20 nationally now. Her previous best was 53.50.

“It was another great day for Margaret as well,” Heimerman said. “It was Margaret’s first time running under 53 seconds, so it was very impressive day for her very proud of her. She’s been working very hard and it looked great, so you have those two young ladies as fast as I run a run as fast as I did was very impressive, especially with the conditions.”

Those two times are easily the top marks in the Southland this season.

Not to be outdone, the men also dominated, led by Achee, whose 46.07 is also the top mark in the Southland and being in the top five in the East and top 10 in the country.

He wasn’t the only one with a personal best, as Desmond Duncan ran a 46.82 to place 24th.

Charlie Bartholomew (46.33) and Kason Jones (46.99) finished 16th and 30th, respectively.

“The 400 men ran very well led by Will,” Heimerman said. “Will was just a tick away from being under 46 and into the 45 range and that’s a PR for him. It was a very impressive run and then have a personal best by Desmond Duncan and then to have two other guys run 46 with Kason Jones and then Charlie Bartholomew. While those weren’t PBs but were close. Four guys at 46 seconds, that’s why they ran what they did in the in the 4×4 last night, but very impressive run by all those guys, especially with the wind on the homestretch.”

In the men’s 100-meter dash, Keontae Gaines ran a 10.29 to finish ninth out of 49. Eddy Vu clocked a personal-best 10.36 to come in 12th.

On the women’s side, Juvonna Cornette ran a season-best 11.45 to finish 13th.

In the field events, Tarajh Hudson (179-2) won the men’s discus, while Seth Smith (167-9) came in eighth.

Shakera Kirk (167-4) came in second on the women’s side in the women’s discus.

Donroy Brown came close to a personal best with a 57-0 in the men’s shot put invite, while La’Darion Dudley (56-1.75) advanced to the finals and placed ninth in the men’s shot put open event.

To wrap up the day, both Ryah Dates (47-3.5) and Eliska Zahradnickova (46-10.25) each made the finals in the women’s shot put, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.

“A lot of people know who Northwestern State is, but after this weekend, a lot more people do with some of the schools that we don’t see often,” Heimerman said. “There were a lot of high schools there and they saw what we did, and it was a very impressive day, so we feel like we got a lot of things accomplished.

“We have some things that we still need to work on and you know you’re never satisfied as a coach or an athlete so there’s things that we’re going to keep competing and working on, but it was a great meet and a great weekend and you know we represented Northwestern State to the best of our ability and I think everybody should be happy with what we did.”

NSU takes a week off from outside competition this upcoming week before heading to California for the Mt. San Antonio College Relays and Bryan Clay Invitational, both starting on April 17.