LAS CRUCES, N.M. – For the first time this season, NM State will compete outside the state of New Mexico, heading west to Tucson, Ariz., for the Dave Murray Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 28. The men's 8K is slated to start at 8:00 a.m. MT, while the women's 8K will begin at approximately 8:35 a.m. Fans can follow along with the action via this
link.
The Starting Line
- NM State will compete in the Dave Murray Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 28, from the Tucson Country Club, as they continue the 2024 season. The men's 8K will start at 8:00 a.m., with the women's 8K beginning at approximately 8:35 a.m.
- NM State will compete alongside a number of regional teams, including NAU, Western New Mexico, UTEP, Pima Community College, El Paso Community College and Grand Canyon, as well as USC and host Arizona.
- This is the penultimate regular season meet the Aggies will compete in ahead of the 2024 CUSA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 2, held in Oxford, Ala. Following that race, any Aggies who qualify would advance to the NCAA Mountain Regional, hosted by the University of Nevada on Nov. 13.
Fresh Faces
- The Aggies welcome 14 new members to the cross country teams, with a wealth of accolades and talent between them.
- NM State landed six transfers in Jonah Archer (GCU), Khloi Bird (Butler CC), Valeria Macias Casas (Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila), Andrew Gibby (Arizona), Rachel O'Brien (Adams State) and Amanda Radava (ULM).
- Along with the transfers, the Crimson & White added seven freshman in the recruiting class – LeslieAnn Apodaca, Orion Chavez, Angel Maese, Alexandra Ordaz, Marisa Sena, Gabriel Uranga and Leo Valenzuela.
- Apodaca (Las Cruces), Chavez (Albuquerque), and Sena (Albuquerque) join from the Land of Enchantment, while Maese, Ordaz, Uranga and Valenzuela add to the program from nearby El Paso.
- At the NM State hosted Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open, freshman Leo Valenzuela recorded the third fastest time among Aggie men, crossing the line with a time of 15:30.46. In Albuquerque, Orion Chavez posted the fastest time among NM State freshman, finishing with a mark of 15:33.1.
One Year Ago… | Dave Murray Invitational | 9.29.23
- The Aggies finished second in the women's division with a total of 72 points, while the men captured fourth place in the team score (106 points), with Thomas Croshaw recording the top finish among the Crimson & White.
- Following a team-best finish in Lubbock, Jordan Torres recorded another strong performance, improving on her time by more than 50 seconds to post a time of 23:00.6 and cross the line 33rd.
- For the second straight week, sophomore Angela Korte tallied a new personal best in the 6k – posting a time of 23:33.5 to finish 43rd. Along with Korte, Murrie Dodge (23:47.7) and Nia Allison (24:01.6) also tallied new career-best marks.
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