LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Life comes at you fast. After opening outdoor season in Tucson, Ariz., at the Willie Williams Classic on Mar. 22, the Aggies will return to action for their penultimate week of competition. The program will split time between the Don Kirby Tailwind Twilight in Albuquerque on Friday, Apr. 19, and the LSU Alumni Gold meet, held Apr. 19 and Apr. 20. As well, UTEP and Kidd Field will play host to the hammer throw event for the Don Kirby Tailwind Twilight.
 
Starting Line

• The Aggies are slated to compete in a pair of meets hosted by New Mexico and No. 1 LSU respectively. Teams scheduled to compete include the hosts and programs such as No. 16 UCF, No. 22 UTEP, Miami, Minnesota and Vanderbilt, among others.
• The Aggies are slated to compete in 16 events on the weekend.
• These meets will serve as the Aggies' penultimate regular-season competitions ahead of the Desert Heat Classic held in Tucson, Ariz., on Sunday, Apr. 28.
• NM State will then travel to El Paso for the 2024 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, held May 10-12. NM State looks for its second consecutive outdoor track & field championship after securing the 2023 WAC championship.

 
Aggies Across the Nation
The Aggies currently have multiple athletes eligible for the NCAA West Preliminaries, held May 22-25 in Fayetteville, Ark. The top-48 student-athletes will be eligible to compete, with the top 16 moving onto the NCAA Championships, held June 5-7 at Hayward Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Below is how the Crimson & White currently rank on the West Preliminary Qualifying List;
 
100m – Jhana Downie, 11.50 (40^th)
200m – Jhana Downie, 23.37 (17^th)
400m – Jhana Downie, 53.45 (30^th)
10,000m – Maggie Gibbs, 33:55.79 (31^st); Emily Stutesman, 34:05.98 (39^th)
100m hurdles – Aliyah Logan, 13.06 (8^th)
400m hurdles – Terice Steen, 59.21 (33^rd)
4x100m relay – 44.64 (16^th)
4x400m relay – 3:35.78 (15^th)
Shot put – Rebecca Green, 16.59m (15^th)
Javelin – Bailey Beene, 48.79m (31^st)
 
Back Track | Beach Invitational/Bryan Clay Invitational/Leopard Distance Carnival/Cerritos Invitational/Pacific Coast Invitational | 4.11-13.24

• Jhana Downie highlighted the 100m dash for NM State, with Downie taking third overall with a wind-adjusted time of 11.50 (+3.9 m/s). Once again finding herself on the podium, Jhana Downie finished second in the 200m dash, recording a wind-adjusted time of 23.63 (+2.5 m/s). In the 400m dash, Jhana Downie proved herself once more, taking home the gold medal after crossing the line with a time of 53.75. This completed a three-podium afternoon for the senior from Sunrise, Fla.
• They say good things come in pairs. This was the case for the Crimson & White, along with Thulisile Amon and Thobile Amon, in the 800m run. The former took first place with a time of 2:09.40, with the latter finishing just behind with a mark of 2:09.96.
• Part of the team taking part in the Cerritos Invitational in Norwalk, Calif., Mariah Humphrey tallied a season-best mark in the javelin, taking first place with a mark of 39.62m (130-0").
• For the third time in 2024 and the second straight week, Rebecca Green finished first overall in the shot put, recording a mark of 16.03m (57-7.25").

 
One Year Ago… | Don Kirby Tailwind Open | 4.20.23

• Jhana Downie competed in the 100m dash for the first time in her collegiate career, picking up a third-place finish after crossing the line with a time of 11.34.  Later in the afternoon Downie competed in the 200m dash, notching her first win of the weekend with a time of 23.46 – a new personal best.
• Makiya Moore topped the field in the discus, finishing with a final distance of 47.67m. Rebecca Green joined Moore on the podium, taking third place with a mark of 39.92m (156-05"). Green later led the competition in the shot put, taking home the gold with a distance of 14.05m (46-1.25").
• T'Erica Boyd leaped over the competition in the 400m hurdles, setting a new personal best while taking first place with a time of 59.91.

 
Schedule of Events ( All Times MDT)
 
Friday
Don Kirby Tailwind Twilight
 
Javelin – 3:45 p.m.
LJ – 4:00 p.m.
800 (Men's) – 4:40 p.m.
800 – 4:45 p.m.
Discus – 4:45 p.m.
100m H – 4:50 p.m.
400 (Men's) – 5:00 p.m.
400 – 5:10 p.m.
100m – 5:30 p.m.
3000 – 5:55 p.m.
SP – 6:00 p.m.
400m H – 6:20 p.m.
200 – 6:40 p.m.
1500 (Men's) – 6:50 p.m.
1500 – 7:05 p.m.
 
Saturday
LSU Alumni Gold
 
4x100 – 11:30 a.m.
LJ – 11:45 a.m.
100m H – 12:05 p.m.
400m – 12:30 p.m.
100m – 1:05 p.m.
TJ – 1:15 p.m.
400m H – 2:10 p.m.
200m – 2:30 p.m.
4x400 – 3:45 p.m.
 
Don Kirby Tailwind Twilight (At UTEP's Kidd Field)
Hammer Throw – TBD
 
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