LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State track & field team heads to Tucson for the Desert Heat Classic on Saturday April 30^th for one last tune up before the 2022 WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. This marks the second time this outdoor season the Aggies find themselves in Tucson, last appearing in the Grand Canyon State for the Willie Williams Classic to open the season. The Desert Heat Classic will take place at Roy P. Drachman Stadium on the campus of University of Arizona.

Last week, the Aggies sent a small number of student-athletes to the Don Kirby Tailwind Open in Albuquerque, taking victories in the Discus (Makiya Moore) and Javelin (Mariah Humphrey), while adding a win in the 1500m Run on the men's side (Micah Too).
 
BRINGING THE HEAT
The Aggies have been a force on the track this season, with several student-athletes ranking among the best in the conference, with a select few ranking among the leaders in the West Region.

Thobile Amon charts seventh in the 800m, and ranks second in the 1500m.
Like her sister, Thulisile Amon ranks among the best in the conference in the 800m, holding the second-best time in the WAC and the seventeenth best mark in the West Region. Amon also runs with the 4x400 relay team consisting of Jhana Downie, Terice Steen, and Asjah Wallace that holds the fourth best time in the conference.

Sierra Brewer helped the 4x100 relay team earn the top spot in the WAC, and 41^st in the West Region.

Valissa Brown holds the fifth best time in the 100m hurdles, also ranking fifth in the triple jump and ninth in the long jump.

Jhana Downie leads the Aggies with five placements inside the top-ten, ranking seventh in the 100m (11.83), fourth in the 200m (23.97), and second in the 400m (54.77).

Downie is also a part of the 4x100 team that tops the WAC with a time of 45.17, and the 4x400 team that lands at fourth, posting a time of 3:42.27.

Maggie Gibbs ranks ninth in the conference in the 5000m, posting a time of 16:31.90 at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Rebecca Green holds the eighth-best toss in the conference in the shot put, along with the seventh-best mark in the discus toss.

Emily Hernandez ranks third in the WAC in the hammer throw.

Mariah Humphrey posted the third best toss in the javelin, also giving Humphrey the 43^rd best mark in the West Region.

Aliyah Logan holds the seventh best time in the 100m hurdles among WAC members.

Phetisang Makhethe tops the WAC in the hammer throw by a sizeable margin, breaking the NM State all-time record and ranking 15^th in the West Region.

Makiya Moore ranks third in the WAC in the discus toss, also holding the fifth-best mark in the hammer throw.

Grace Pendarvis ranks fifth among WAC members in the 100m and the 200m, while also participating on the 4x100 relay team that tops the conference.

Terice Steen posted the second-best mark in the WAC in the 400m hurdles. Steen is also a member of the 4x400 relay team that holds the fourth best mark in the conference.

Israel Swanson places seventh on the 400m hurdle leaderboard, posting a time of 1:02.79 at the Beach Invitational.

Asjah Wallace leads the WAC in the 100m hurdles, while also a member of the 4x100 team that leads the conference, and the 4x400 team which holds the fourth best time among conference members.
 
THE STARTING LINE
Below is a list of which Aggies will be competing at the Desert Heat Classic
 
Hammer Throw - 12:00 p.m.
Kaelyn Fenstermacher, Emily Hernandez, Phetisang Makhethe, Makiya Moore, Iysis Tellez- Briggs, Kaitlyn Ward
 
Discus Throw - 2:30 p.m.
Bailey Beene, Rebecca Green, Makiya Moore, Kaitlyn Ward
 
Long Jump - 3:00 p.m.
Valissa Brown, Victoria Veserra
 
Shot Put - 5:00 p.m.
Rebecca Green, Makiya Moore, Kaitlyn Ward
 
100m Hurdles - 5:25 p.m.
Valissa Brown, Aliyah Logan, Asjah Wallace
 
4x100 Relay - 5:50 p.m.
 
800m Run - 6:00 p.m.
Thobile Amon
 
400m Dash - 6:20 p.m.
Jhana Downie, Takiyah Johnson, Jahnya Hill
 
Javelin Throw - 6:30 p.m.
Bailey Beene, Kaelyn Fenstermacher, Mariah Humphrey
 
100m Dash - 6:55 p.m.
Sierra Brewer, Grace Pendarvis
 
Triple Jump - 7:00 p.m.
Valissa Brown, Kaleyn Fenstermacher, Breanna Moss
 
3000m Steeplechase - 7:15 p.m.
Kayla O'Connell, Mia Regan, Richelle Sandin
 
400m Hurdles - 7:40 p.m.
Breanna Moss, Terice Steen, Israel Swanson
 
200m Dash - 8:00 p.m.
Sierra Brewer, Jhana Downie, Aliyah Logan, Grace Pendarvis, Victoria Veserra
 
1500m Run - 8:25 p.m.
Thulisile Amon, Sheyenne Drake
 
4x400 Relay - 9:35 p.m.
 
For complete coverage of NM State Track & Field, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateXCTF), Instagram (@NMStateXCTF), and like us on Facebook (NMStateTrackXC).
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