LIVE RESULTS
 
Las Cruces, N.M. – The NM State indoor track & field team will be headed up north this weekend to compete in the MLK Collegiate Invitational, which The University of New Mexico is hosting.  
 
This is the Aggie's second competition of the new year as they continue to find their stride after competing in the Corky Classic last weekend. Last weekend's meet in Lubbock was the first time the Aggies had competed in nearly two years since the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the first meet out of the way, the Aggies look forward to improving beyond the promising performances from both the newcomers and returning athletes. In case you missed it:


CORKY CLASSIC | LUBBOCK, TX
 
Day 1
 
Makiya Moore finished seventh in the weight throw with a toss of 55-9 1/4.
 
Thulisile Amon outlasted the competition in the 1000m finishing in first place, with a time of 3:08.17. 
 
 
Day 2
 
Coming off an ACL tear prior to arriving at NM State, freshman newcomer Jhana Downie finished fourth in the 200m posting a time of 24.89. 
 
Two other freshmen who stood out Saturday were Grace Pendarvis and Sierra Brewer. The pair of sprinters both posted qualifying times in the 60m. Pendarvis ran a time of 7.76, and Brewer ran a time of 7.68. Both sprinters would improve on their times in the next round. Brewer improved her time to a 7.64 in the finals, while Pendarvis would improve to a 7.70. For Brewer, her time of 7.64 was enough to place her in the top ten all-time for the 60m at NM State.
 
A quartet of Aggies finished in the top five for the 3000m race. Emily Stutesman finished second with a time of 10:10.78, Amon followed her with a time of 10:17.65, placing third. Next was Gibbs, who posted a time of 10:19.22 to take fourth, and Sandin finished fifth with a time of 10:49.21. Two other Aggies also finished inside the top ten, giving the Aggies a whopping seven of the top ten in the 60m. Mia Regan finished sixth and ran a time of 10.49.76, while Kayla O'Connell finished ninth and ran a 11.22.26.
 
In the 4x400m relay, the team of Terice Steen, Sierra Brewer, Grace Pendarvis, and Jhana Downie would help the Aggies finish eighth in the final with a time of 3:52.12.



QUOTABLES | HEAD COACH JOSEPH RATH 
 
Head Coach Joseph Rath on how it feels to get first meet under his belt:
 
 
"It a lot of ways I don't think it's necessarily getting it out of the way but definitely a new start to a new chapter for our journey. A lot of the times the first meet is getting the kids to understand the different type of environment, they practice for so long, particularly in sprints, jumps and throws all through the fall this being their first competition it's just different, and so the biggest take away we're trying to get from this meet to the next is what that really feels like. The overall environment aspect, the mindset stuff, what's different at that competition venue that they can take back to practice to practice on that aspect."
 
 
Coach Rath on his team performance in Lubbock last weekend:
 
 
"Overall, just a lot to work on. In a lot of ways, a typical first meet that way. I think a lot of people know, it gives them a little more of a reality check of where they are at, in terms of especially mindset and how they have to work on the meet. Overall, as coaches, it's kind of what we expect; nothing has changed from a training standpoint. It's just about refining your execution on meet day."
 
 
Coach Rath on what he expects to see out of his team this weekend:
 
 
"The biggest part is probably in a lot of the technical events. Field events, hurdles, being able to stay a little more calm, being a lot more focused for that kind of pressure, not let them get in their heads."
 
 
Coach Rath on which athletes we should be keeping an eye on this season:
 
 
"I think Vallissa Brown and Aliya Logan in the hurdles are going to be ones that I expect to make some nice jumps and be some of our top performers in hurdles. Short sprints, you know, basically all three of our freshman, Sierra, Grace, and Brianna, are going to be ones that are going to pop off [and do] some good things. Terice is going to be someone else who is going to make some big jumps when she gets a chance to run the 400m at the end. Some of it is were not always putting our kids in their best events right away, some things are working though the season on stuff. In the throws, it's obviously going to be Makiya and then also Emily Hernandez, she's got her foot a little dinged up, but I think she is going to be someone to keep an eye on coming up. And the same thing with Rebecca Green, she is someone who struggled a lot in the first meet, but she'll be someone to watch out for."
 
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Aggies Competing at the MLK Invitational:
 
60m Dash:
Sierra Brewer
Brianna Gayle
Aliyah Logan
Grace Pendarvis
 
200m Dash:
Sierra Brewer
Jhana Downie
Brianna Gayle
Takiyah Johnson
Terice Steen
 
800m Run:
Thulisile Amon
 
Mile Run:
Thobile Amon
Maggie Gibbs
Kayla O'Connell
Mia Regan
Richelle Sandin
Emily Stutesman
 
60m Hurdles:
Valissa Brown
Aliyah Logan
Israel Swanson 
 
4 x 400m Relay
A: (Hill,Steen,Johnson,Downie,Pendarvis)
B: (Pendarvis,Amon,Yost,Swanson,Fenstermacher)
 
High Jump:
Bailey Yost
 
Long Jump:
Valissa Brown
Victoria Veserra
 
Triple Jump:
Kaelyn Fenstermacher

Shot Put:
Rebecca Green
Makiya Moore 
 
Weight Throw:
Rebecca Green
Emily Hernandez
Makiya Moore 
Kaitlyn Ward
Iysis Tellez-Biggs 

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