LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After completing their regular season schedule, the NM State Indoor Track & Field team heads to Spokane, Washington for the 2023 WAC Indoor T&F Championships, held Friday, Feb. 24^th and Saturday, Feb. 25^th. The two-day meet will serve as the season finale for a majority of athletes, though a select few will advance to the NCAA Indoor Championships, held at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico Friday March 10^th and Saturday March 11^th. The Western Athletic Conference released their Coaches' Poll on Tuesday afternoon, with the Aggies picked atop the women's side of the competition. If NM State is able to take the top spot, it will be there second Indoor championship in the last three years.
 
The Starting Line

• NM State's indoor season culminates in the 2023 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, held Friday, Feb. 24^th and Saturday, Feb. 25^th in Spokane, Washington.
• Aggie fans can tune into ESPN+ for the Finals on both Friday and Saturday or keep track with live results through Athletic Live.

 
Back Track | Don Kirby Elite Invitational | 2.10-11.23

• Thobile Amon recorded a time of 2:10.85 in the 800m run to take fourth place in the event and secure the all-time NM State record; Thulisile Amon finished seventh in the 800m with a time of 2:12.13.
• Phethisang Makhethe finished third in the weight throw with a distance of 202.26m (66-6"), claiming the top performance in NM State history. Miranda Tcheutchuoa recorded a personal best and finished tenth in the event (18.79m, 61'8"), while also earning the third-best mark in the weight throw at NM State.
• Jhana Downie finished the 400m dash with a time of 53.86, a personal best and the third-best time in NM State history.
• Jhana Downie (23.75), Terice Steen (24.52), Grace Pendarvis (24.55), T'Erica Boyd (24.65) and Breanna Moss (25.47) recorded personal bests in the 200m dash.

 
Athletes to Watch

• Aliyah Logan

Logan enters Spokane as the reigning WAC 60m Hurdle Champion after she blew past her competition at last year's meet with an 8.39 second finish, which at the time, was the fastest recorded indoor time in school history. That record lasted less than a full year as Logan kicked off her 2023 campaign by breaking the mark with a time of 8.29 and third place finish at the Texas Tech Corky Classic (Jan. 13). This performance currently ranks as the 50^th fastest recorded time for the event in the nation, the fourth fastest time in the D1 Mountain Region and the second fastest time in the WAC this season.
 

• Grace Pendarvis

Pendarvis is the reigning WAC Champion for the 200m Dash after setting a personal record in the event at last year's Championships with a 23.94 mark going down as the third fastest indoor time in NM State history. Pendarvis has only competed in the 200m twice this season but holds the 34^th fastest time in the D1 Mountain Region with a 24.55 mark. In addition, she also holds the 43^rd fastest 60m dash performance in the region with a 7.73 second finish.
 

• Jhana Downie

Downie, a junior sprinter from the sunshine state had an impressive outing at last year's WAC Indoor Championships where she competed in three separate events: 200m dash, 400m dash and 4X400m relay. Downie placed inside the top five for the 400m (55.65) and 4X400m relay (3:45.26) and finished in the top ten of the 200m dash (24.61). She currently holds the top Aggie mark in the 200m and 400m and is a part of a 4X400 team that nearly broke the school record at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic with a relay time of 3:42.17. This season, Downie has a top 50 performance in the D1 Mountain Region for the 60m hurdles as well as top-five performances in both the 200m and 400m dashes.
 

• Thobile Amon

South African distance runner Thobile Amon has been a great addition to Coach Rath's distance team. Through four regular-season meets and five events, she finished no worse than eighth, with a trio of third-place finishes. The junior currently holds the 14^th best 800m time in the DI Mountain Region with her 2:10.85 time at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational (Feb. 10), and the 42^nd best mile time in the region with a 4:58.81 time at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic (Feb. 3); this time also represents a new personal best. She also holds the school record in the 800m run with her 2:10.85 mark.
 

• Thulisile Amon

They say good things come in pairs, and Thulisile and Thobile Amon have proven just that through their performances at NM State. The sisters came in and made an instant impact on the Aggie's squad last season, and this year has been more of the same. Participating in three meets and four different events on the year, Amon has finished no worse than eighth, and took the crown in the 1000m run at the Corky Classic (Jan. 13-14^th) with a time of 3:00.47. At the same meet, she recorded a personal best in the mile run, crossing the line with a time of 5:11.43. Dating back to last years WAC Indoor T&F Championships, Amon held the best 800m time in NM State history; until her sister Thobile had a change of plans. Thulisile Amon now holds the second-fastest mark in NM State history and holds the 19^th best time in the DI Mountain Region (2:11.19).
 

• Phethisang Makhethe

The super sophomore has been an instant impact addition to the NM State squad since she arrived in Las Cruces. On the year, she has competed in four meets in the weight throw, placing no worse than third, with a first-place finish at the Corky Classic (Jan. 13-14^th). Already holding the second-best mark at NM State following her freshman year, she solidified her spot in the record books with a mark of 20.06m (65-9.75") at the MLK Collegiate Invitational (Jan. 21^st). Less than a month later, Makhete recorded a final distance of 20.26m (66-5.75") at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational (Feb. 10-11^th) and overtook current volunteer coach Yemisi Oroyinyin for the top spot in NM State history. Currently, Makhethe's mark ranks 36^th in the nation, and the top mark in the DI Mountain Region.
 

• Miranda Tcheutchuoa

Transferring into the program from UTRGV, Tcheutchuoa has worked tirelessly to improve in her sophomore campaign. Across four meets this season, she has finished no worse than tenth, and has a pair of third-place finishes to her name at the MLK Collegiate Invitational (Jan. 21^st) and the New Mexico Team Open (Jan. 27-28^th) with marks of 18.36m (60-3") and 17.88m (58-8") respectively. Currently, her personal best toss of 18.79m (61-7.75") ranks eighth best in the DI Mountain Region.
 

• Rebecca Green

Splitting time between the shotput and weight throw events, the junior from Los Alamos has recorded notable marks in each event. Following a sixth-place finish in the shotput at the Corky Classic (Jan. 13-14^th), Green set a personal best at the MLK Collegiate Invitational (Jan. 21^st), taking third with a distance of 15.44m (50-8"). The next week at the New Mexico Team Open (Jan. 27-28^th), she recorded a personal best in the weight throw, tallying a mark of 14.53m (47-8"). At present, she is the only Aggie to rank within the top ten in the DI Mountain Region in the shotput (sixth) and within the top-50 for the weight throw (forty-fourth).
 
Schedule of Events (All Times MT)
 
Friday
 
Shotput – 2:30 p.m.
Long Jump – 3:30 p.m.
Mile run (prelims) – 4:00 p.m.
60m hurdles (prelims) – 4:35 p.m.
60m dash (prelims) – 5 p.m.
400m run (prelims) – 5:35 p.m.
800m run (prelims) – 6:10 p.m.
200m dash (prelims) – 6:20 p.m.
5000m run – 7:00 p.m.
 
Saturday
 
Weight throw – Noon
 Mile run – 3:30 p.m.
60m hurdles – 3:55 p.m.
60m dash – 4:15 p.m.
400m run – 4:40 p.m.
800m run – 5:00 p.m.
200m dash – 5:20 p.m.
3000m run – 5:40 p.m.
4x400m relay – 6:50 p.m.
Awards ceremony – 7:15 p.m.