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Demon Sports Medicine Staff
2022-23 DEMON BASKETBALL NSU SPORTS MEDICINE STAFF
JASON DRURY
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DIRECTOR OF SPORTS MEDICINE
Now in his 17th season at Northwestern State, Jason Drury was promoted to director of sports medicine in 2012 after the retirement of long-time athletic trainer Ed Evans. Drury joined the sports medicine staff at Northwestern State in the summer of 2005 after being the head athletic trainer at Natchitoches Central for five years.
Drury was instrumental in developing Northwestern State’s partnership with Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, which doubled NSU’s full-time sports medicine staff in 2015.
In the spring of 2009, Drury took over as the head football athletic trainer for the Demons, after working for three seasons with the women’s soccer team and one season with men’s basketball team.
A 1999 graduate of Idaho State University in biology, Drury worked with numerous sports in Pocatello, Idaho, including football, men’s basketball and track and field. Drury earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Northwestern State in 2001, during which time he worked as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for the NSU softball team.
Drury is a native of Paoli, Indiana. He and his wife, Toni, have been married for 18 years. They have two children, Maddox and Kenzie.
KALEVI PAJULUOMA
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF SPORTS MEDICINE UL Lafayette, 2020; Third season at Northwestern State
Kalevi Pajuluoma was named Northwestern State’s assistant director of sports medicine in August 2020 after spending one season as a graduate assistant athletic trainer on the NSU staff.
After one season with the men’s basketball team, Pajuluoma became the primary tennis and assistant football athletic trainer.
He was part of a medical staff that guided NSU’s 14-sport athletics department through the COVID-19 pandemic, which included developing and implementing testing and quarantine protocols that aligned with regional and national standards.
Pajuluoma spent three years at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for his undergraduate degree, assisting with men’s basketball, volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis and track and field.
Pajuluoma gained additional experience as a volunteer with the Manning Passing Academy. He also volunteers on the Professional Development Committee for Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association.
ZACHERY STANDIFORD
ATHLETIC TRAINING INTERN
Zachery Standiford begins his third season as Northwestern State's men's basketball athletic trainer.
Standiford completed his master's degree in health and human performance at Northwestern State in May 2022.
He helped create and implement COVID-19 protocols for the men's basketball team, which didn't miss a game because of the virus during the 2020-21 season.
Standiford served the UL Lafayette men’s basketball team as an undergraduate for two seasons, traveling to away games and assisting the head athletic trainer with daily duties.
KRISTINA OVERHOLT
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF SPORTS MEDICINE
Kristina Overholt was promoted to assistant director of sports medicine at Northwestern State in May 2021 after excelling as a graduate assistant for two seasons.
She remains the primary athletic trainer for women’s soccer and will supervise all athletic trainers in Prather Coliseum. Overholt served for two seasons as the primary athletic trainer for soccer along with other secondary sports.
The Lynchburg, Virginia, native graduated with her masters in health and human performance with a concentration in sports administration from Northwestern State this May and from James Madison in 2019 with a bachelors of science in athletic training.
At JMU, she worked with women’s field hockey, women’s soccer, and within the university’s recreation center athletic training room, which included the men’s and women’s club rugby teams. Overholt also worked with a local high school.
Overholt also taught CPR and First Aid and assisted with various classes as a part of NSU’s health and human performance department.
She is a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association, Virginia Athletic Trainers’ Association and Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association.
BRITTANY GOLDBERG
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF SPORTS MEDICINE
Brittany Goldberg was promoted to Northwestern State’s associate director of sports medicine in June of 2021 after serving three seasons as the primary baseball and assistant football athletic trainer.
Goldberg, who was a graduate assistant with women’s soccer, returned to Northwestern State as its assistant director of sports medicine in the summer of 2018 after a stint at UL Lafayette.
In 2021, Goldberg became the chair of the NSU athletic department’s mental health committee.
She played a key role in helping the 14-sport athletic department navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, which included developing and implementing testing and quarantine protocols that aligned with regional and national standards.
Goldberg took charge of reporting COVID-19 test results for the department, which routinely occurred three times per week during all competitive seasons.
The Lake Havasu City, Arizona, native graduated from Northwestern State with a masters in health and human performance with a concentration in health promotion in May 2018, after spending two years working as an athletic trainer with soccer, spring volleyball, tennis and football.
The Southern Utah graduate earned a degree in athletic training and exercise science while serving two athletics seasons with duties ranging from emergency care, rehabilitation and baseline concussion testing.
Her sport assignments included football, softball, men’s basketball, gymnastics, cross country, track and field, volleyball and tennis. Goldberg served Parowan High School in a variety of sports as well as the Utah High School Activities Association football championships. Goldberg is a licensed athletic trainer by the State of Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners, a BOC certified athletic trainer and a Red Cross certified professional rescuer.
