Nicholls not only earned two gold medals during the Louisiana State University relays, they shattered two school records in the 4×800 distance medley and the 4×200 relay.

The track coach, Heather Van Norman, expected to use the meet as good training, “I knew what the team needed to work on as individuals, and I established goals for each person,” she said.

The 4×800 DMR group consists of sophomore Jackie White, and three freshmen, Ingvild Vedde, Tessni Carruthers and Jayla Johnson. Coming into the new season, the girls knew nothing about one another, but after running cross-country together earlier in the year, their relationship as a group formed. The working bond was evident in the record-setting time at LSU.

The 4×800 team clocked in at a time of 12:07.70, which put them in first place, and they broke the previous school record of 12:16.88 set last year.

White stated, “I knew we had a good shot, but I did not expect to win by that much. The record is just a bonus to us.”

The girls said they were just happy to beat LSU and look for more victories ahead in the 800-1600 DMR’s.

The 4×200 meter relay team of senior Tricia Carrier, sophomore Barlitra Dirance, and two freshmen Victoria Williams and Quadri Newson also broke a record at the LSU meet.

The girls said they eat together, practice together and even walk to class together, but when going into LSU, the girls said that they did not expect to break a record at all.

“When we finished, I knew we had a good time, but I was not aware of the record until later,” Williams said.

The group came in fifth place in the event with a time of 1:40.53, but surpassed Nicholls’ previous school record of 1:41.17 set in 2008.

“Our success has come from our practice. Coach Heather has pushed us to work harder and become more focused,” Carrier said.

The girls said that they are using their times as motivation to work harder, and run faster.

“I expect discipline and hard work from the girls and could tell their progress from the personal times increasing throughout practice,” Norman said, but she did not realize the potential of the girls right away.

Upon the end of the indoor season, Norman felt that the outdoor season would even the playing field, for the indoor tracks can be limited and tougher to navigate in size.

The outdoor track season began on March 10, and within three weeks, the girls have already broken two records.

“4×200 was a definite surprise, especially because I felt that we lost time in our exchanges. The 4×800 team ran clean, and finished with a great time,” Norman said.

The track team will travel to Natchitoches for the Leon Johnson invite on April 6. Norman is looking for more girls to qualify for the conference championship by raising their personal times.