LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Track & field season is back in swing, and the NM State indoor track & field team is primed and ready to kick off the season with their first meet in Lubbock, Texas this weekend as they get set to compete in the Corky Classic, hosted by Texas Tech.
 
Joseph Rath enters his second season as the Aggies head track & field coach. Last season, under the direction of Rath, the team was able to finish fourth place at the WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships after accumulating 94 points as a team. In the end, seven athletes finished in the top-five of their respected events: Thobile Amon set a personal best in the one mile final taking fifth place; Emily Stutesman took fifth place in the 3000m final, she also took fifth in the 5000m run final; Grace Pendarvis brought home the gold in the 200m final; Jhana Downie placed fourth in the 400m final; Thulisile Amon placed third in the 800m dash final; Aliyah Logan ran away with first place in the 60m hurdles; Phethisang Makhethe put together another first place performance in the weight throw final; the 4x400m team of Terice Steen, Thulisile Amon, Grace Pendarvis and Jhana Downie combined to finish second.
 
After only losing one senior from last season's team and most of the team returning for this season, including the seven mentioned above, NM State will look to run away with the competition this season for their final year in the WAC as they are set to move to Conference USA with the rest of NM State athletics starting in the fall.
 
The Starting Line

• This will mark the third consecutive season NM State T&F competes in the Corky Classic.
• Fans can stream all the action through ESPN+ with a paid subscription, or you can follow along for free with live results thanks to Prime-Time Timing and Karmarush.
• As of now, 31 athletes are slated to compete across 12 events in Lubbock this weekend.
• One runner to watch out for is junior sprinter Aliyah Logan who is scheduled to compete in the 60m hurdles this weekend. Logan set a personal record and placed herself in the NM State history books after recording a first-place time of 8.39 at the WAC Indoor Championships last season putting her atop of the NM State all-time leader board for the event.
• Another athlete to keep an eye on is second year thrower Phethisang Makhethe who is slated to complete in the weight throw this weekend, an event she dominated last season. Across five indoor meets last year, Makhethe never placed outside of the top-five and finished her indoor campaign with a first-place finish in the weight throw at the WAC Championships with a personal best mark of 19.39m (63' 7.5"), which is good for the second longest throw in NM State history behind former thrower, and current Aggie graduate assistant, Yemisi Oroyinyin.

 
Schedule of Events
 
Friday, January 13

• 1:30 pm - Weight Throw
• 4:00 pm - Long Jump
• 4:45 pm - 400m B selections
• 5:40 pm - 1000m
• 6:15 pm - 200m
• 8:00 pm - 3000m B selections

 
Saturday, January 14

• 10:00 am - Shot put
• 10:00 am - Long jump
• 10:00 am - 1 mile
• 10:40 am - 60m prelim
• 11:45 am - 60m hurdles prelim
• 12:25 pm - 400m A selections
• 12:30 pm - Triple jump
• 1:05 pm - 60m hurdles semi final
• 1:15 pm - 60m semi final
• 2:00 pm - 60m hurdles final
• 2:10 pm - 60m final
• 2:20 pm - 200m A selections
• 2:50 pm - 3000m A selections
• 3:20 pm – 4x400m relay