HAMMOND, La. – It will be a busy weekend for the Southeastern Louisiana track and field teams as they split up for meets in Lake Charles and Birmingham, Alabama.

    Southeastern head coach Sean Brady said a large group will be heading to the McNeese II Meet at McNeese's Ralph O. Ward Recreation Complex on Friday. Full squads from Southeastern and host McNeese will be joined by athletes from Loyola-New Orleans, Louisiana College and Northwestern State. Field events start at 1 p.m. with track events getting underway at 2:45 p.m.

    Live stats, provided by McNeese, will be available on the track and field schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

    Among the athletes scheduled to compete for Southeastern are junior Deandre Henderson, who shattered the Recreation Complex record in winning the 200 meters in 22.11 seconds at the McNeese Invite #1 two weeks ago. Junior Clarissa Smith also returns after breaking the facility record in the mile in taking second in 5 minutes, 35.44 seconds.

    Sophomore Rodney Ruffin and freshman Ashley Davis both received honorable mention Southland weekly honors for their performances at the first McNeese meet. Ruffin captured the long jump with a personal-best mark of 23 feet, 11.5 inches, then set another personal best in finishing second in the triple jump at 48-5.5. Davis, in her Lady Lion debut, took home the shot put title with a mark of 45-11.25 and was also seventh in the weight throw at 45-7.

    "We got off to a strong start," Brady said. "Our athletes had such a great meet there, I think if we can roll in there and replicate some of the mojo we left with last week we will be in business."

    Southeastern will take a smaller group on Sunday to the KMS Invitational at the Birmingham CrossPlex, which will be the home of the Southland Conference Indoor Championships next month. Ruffin and senior Steven Barze in the long and high jumps and junior Devin King in the pole vault will look to get national qualifying marks.

    Senior Andre Colebrook will run the 800 meters for the first time this season, looking not only to break his own school record but also to make a run at the Bahamian mark as well. The women's sprint corps will also be at full strength for the first time in 2017.

    "It will be a much larger meet, much bigger competition and it will be our first opportunity to compete at the same facility where we will be competing for the indoor conference meet," Brady said. "The step up in competition will be significant, so we are anxious to go in there and have a good competition."