NATCHITOCHES — Destine Scott couldn’t have asked for a better start to his Northwestern State career.

The 2021 Southland Conference Indoor Newcomer of the Year captured silver in the 200 meters, bronze in the 4×400 relay and fourth in the 400 meters this past season as a sophomore.

But a groin injury derailed his initial outdoors campaign this past spring, and it changed his entire approach to track and field.

“I am on the heftier side now, although you can’t be too heavy on the track and run fast,” Scott said. “I was the one to blame last year – I ate whatever I wanted to but because I was strong, I didn’t feel like it mattered to me.

“I changed my diet — I’m a pescatarian (just fish/seafood) now so I cut out meat. I drink a lot of water, go to treatment even if it’s just getting ice and taking better care of my body now. I’m doing all the small things now that will benefit me later because an injury could start really small and get bigger, so I get on it as soon as possible.”

Fast forward to this outdoors season, and Scott’s added determination is already paying dividends as he and a small sprint group prepare for LSU’s Joe May Invitational on Saturday. Most of the team will head to Nacogdoches, Texas, for the Carl Kight Invitational.

Scott posted personal bests in the 200 this past weekend at Baylor (20.86) and in the 400 (46.89), which rank first and third in the SLC, respectively.

More importantly, those times have almost surely secured Scott’s place in the NCAA East Preliminaries, where runners can punch their ticket to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.

“I finished one spot out of the (qualifying for the East Preliminaries) last year, and that just added fuel to the fire,” Scott said. “It was tough because last year, I had this mentality that if I could walk, then I could run.

“But now I’m listening to my body more instead of having the mindset of, ‘I’m going to do this rep or run this race no matter what.’ I had multiple setbacks last season, but now I’m trusting the process.”

The man in charge of that process is NSU sprints coach Adam Pennington.

Pennington said while Scott’s physical strength is easy to see, his mental toughness is what sets Scott apart.

“He’s so mentally tough, it’s hard to tell him he can’t do something,” Pennington said. “This guy puts in everything he has on a daily basis, and he’s doing all the small things.

“He’s a pescatarian, he wakes up a 5 a.m., he goes to sleep early, doesn’t party – he’s got the mindset that he’s not going to give up until he achieves his goals.”

Scott said his groin didn’t fully heal until August, and he had to claw his way back to his top form.

“He faced a lot of adversity, and he has to sit back and watch everybody else do big things,” Pennington said. “He didn’t get the chance to run at (NCAA East Prelims), and he ran hurt at Southland Conference Championships.

“He came in with a big chip on his shoulder, and he’s stood up pretty well and is making a name for himself. I know that when he gets out there with fastest 48 runners (at NCAA East Prelims), it’s hard for me to think that there are 12 guys that can beat him. If they do, they’ll certainly deserve to go to the NCAAs.”

Scott started this season’s campaign by breaking NSU’s Indoor 400-meter record (46.96) and edged McNeese’s Jalon White by a fraction of a tenth of a second (.004) to claim gold. Scott was also part of a 4×400 relay bronze.

“Nobody wants it more than him,” said NSU head coach Mike Heimerman. “He’s a beast, and he does all the little things it takes.”

Now he’s part of NSU’s outdoor sprint success.

The Demons rank 11th in the nation in the 200 meters, which totals the top four runners on each squad. His 20.86 ranks 42nd nationally followed by Simon Wulff (20.99), Kie’Ave Harry (21.11) and Evan Nafe (21.31).

NSU also ranks sixth nationally in the 100 meters as a group and joins North Carolina A&T as non-Power 5 members who rank in the top 15 in both of the short sprints. Wulff (10.34), Harry (10.36), Tre’Darius Carr (10.38) and Nafe (10.48) lead the charge.

“Those are huge numbers, and we prove that we have great depth every season,” Pennington said. “Injuries occur throughout the season, and we have guys we can throw in there to run, which isn’t always the case in men’s track.

“Having this speed around each other makes for competitive practices, and iron sharpens iron to make everybody better. We can compete with anybody in the country. Now we’ll look for consistency each week as we try to lower our times.”