LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary declarations have been made and nine Aggies have been selected to represent NM State in Fayetteville, Ark. this week (5/25-5/28). The nine athletes include Aliyah Logan (100m hurdles), Terice Steen (400m hurdles), Thulisile Amon (800m), Maggie Gibbs (10,000m), Phethisang Makhethe (Hammer), and the 4X100 team of Jhana Downie, Grace Pendarvis, Sierra brewer and Asjah Wallace. 
 
Bringing the Heat
Aliyah Logan is coming off an impressive season where she set personal records in multiple short distance events including the 100m (12.29) at the NM St. Pius Distance Festival (4/7), the 200m (25.08) at the Long Beach Invitational (4/15), and the 100m Hurdles (13.54) at the WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships (5/14). 

Her performance at the WAC Outdoor T&F Championships is one of her best of the season and ultimately what got her selected to complete in Arkansas this week. Her wind adjusted time of 13.54 (+0.2 m/s) was best amongst other conference competitors as she took first place in the event and set a school record. The time was also the sixth-fastest time recorded in the D1 Mountain West Region this season and the 43rd best time amongst other West Prelim qualifiers. You can catch Logan competing in the event again on Thursday (5/26) at 5:00 p.m. MST. 
 
Terice Steen is another sprinter who has had her share of success this season. Steen competed mostly in the 400m Hurdles and the 4X400 this season and recorded numerous top-five finishes including a first-place finish at the UNM Spring Invite (4/7) posting a 1:00.55 in the 400m Hurdles.
 
Her best time came at the 62nd Annual Mt. Sac Relays Collegiate Invite (4/13) where she posted a time of 59.65 in the 400m Hurdles, which is ultimately what qualified her for the Regional. This time was just short of her personal best (59.38) which she set last season at the Masked Rider Open (4/9). Her time was also the 11th fastest time recorded in the DI Mountain Region this season and the 44th fasted qualifying time in the West Prelim. Steen is scheduled to complete in the 400m Hurdles Thursday (5/26) at 7:20 p.m. MST. 
 
Maggie Gibbs has had put together a nice outdoor season as well. The sophomore distance runner has set a personal record in three of her last six outdoor events. She set two personal records at the Brian Clay Invitational (4/13) in both the 1500m (4:33.87) and the 5000m (6:31.90). Last week at the WAC Outdoor T&F Championships, she competed in the 10,000m for the first time placing sixth and set a school record (34:13.56). 
 
Her 10,000m time is the 26th fastest time in the DI Mountain Region and the 51st best qualifying time in the West Prelim. She is set to complete in the 10,000m on Thursday (5/26) at 8:10 p.m. MST.
 
Thulisile Amon has been fantastic since joining the NM State XC/T&F teams last season. This season, the sophomore out of South Africa has battled some injuries, but still has put on an impressive showing anytime she laces up the shoes. She's completed in six distance events this season placing top-five in three of those events. She set two personal records at the Bryan Clay Invitational (4/13) in the 1500m (4:34.71) and the 800m (2:05.42).
 
Her latest 800m run is the sixth fasted time in the D1 Mountain Region and the 30th best qualifying time in the West Prelim. Amon was scheduled to complete on Thursday (5/26), however, she had to withdraw from the competition for personal reasons.
 
Another South African native who has been making some noise this season is freshman hammer thrower, Phethisang Makhethe. If there is one word to describe Makhethe's freshman season thus far, it's Dominant. Since joining the team early in the Indoor season, Makhethe has competed in 11 total events and has placed top-five in every single one of them. She has three first-place finishes during the outdoor season: At the 2022 Willie Williams Classic (3/18), Aztec Invitational (3/24) and the WAC Outdoor T&F Championships (5/12). She also set a personal best and a school record in the hammer throw at the Desert Heat Classic (4/30) with a mark of 65.40m. 
 
This mark currently ranks the top mark in the D1 Mountain Region, the 25th best mark in the entire nation, and the 14th best mark among qualifiers at the West Prelim. Makhethe is set to take the stage on Thursday (5/26) at 9:00 a.m. MST.
 
The quartet of Sierra Brewer, Jhana Downie, Asjah Wallace and Grace Pendarvis have competed in the 4x100m four times this season and have taken first place in three of those four outings. Their best time came at the Desert Heat Classic (4/30) recording a time of 44.85 which was good enough for fourth place, only behind BYU, San Diego State and Oregon who is ranked 9th in the nation as a team according to the USTFCCCA ranking index and has the eighth-best 4x100 time in the nation. 
 
Their performance at the Desert Heat Classic ranks fourth in the D1 Mountain Region, the 47th best time among qualifiers at the West Prelim, and is the second-fastest time in NM State history. The 4x100 is scheduled to begin Saturday (5/28) at 4:00 p.m. MST.
 
Schedule of Events
Thursday

• Hammer (9:00 a.m.) - Phethisang Makhethe
• 100m Hurdle (5:00 p.m.) - Aliyah Logan
• 400m Hurdle (7:20 p.m.) - Terice Steen
• 10,000m (8:10 p.m.) - Maggie Gibbs

 
Saturday

• 4x100 (4:00 p.m.) - Sierra Brewer, Jhana Downie, Grace Pendarvis, Asjah Wallace

 
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