Joseph Rath was named the head coach of the NM State track & field and cross country teams in October 2021. Prior to being tabbed as head coach, he spent six seasons with the Aggies as an assistant coach on Doug Reynolds' staff. Rath coaches the cross country team and the distance runners.
Kicking off the 2022-23 season, the women's cross country team managed a fourth place finish - with Emily Stutesman earning herself First Team All-WAC, with sisters Thulisile and Thobile Amon earning Second Team All-WAC; Anekin Hetman earned Second Team All-WAC honors with the men's squad. The Amons', Stutesman, Maggie Gibbs, Richelle Sandin and Kayla O'Connell earned invitations to the NCAA Mountain Regional on the women's side, while Anekin Hetman and Collins Yego represented the men's side of the action.
Moving to the indoor season, the Aggies put together a runner-up finish at the WAC Championships, led by a pair of victories in the 200m and the 400m by Jhana Downie.
During the outdoor season, the Aggies put together one of their most impressive seasons in recent memory - claiming their first ever WAC Outdoor title, and the first for the program since 2004 (Sun Belt). Rath was named the WAC Outdoor Women's Coach of the Year, while Downie was named the 2023 WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Outstanding Performer. NM State sent seven to the NCAA West Regionals, with a trio of student-athletes advancing past the preliminaries.
The Aggie men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2021-22 campaign with the women managing to take home fourth-place at the WAC Cross Country Championships, while the men garnered an eighth-place finish. Richelle Sandin and Maggie Gibbs earned All-WAC Second Team honors after placing 12th and 16th respectively. During the 2022 track and field season, NM State nabbed a fourth place finish at the WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships with Aliyah Logan and Phethisang Makhethe taking home first-place finishes in their respective events. Logan managed to break the school all-time record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.39 while Makhethe broke the school all-time record for the weight throw with a mark of 19.39 as a freshman.
Following a sixth place finish at the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Rath and staff saw a multitude of Aggies qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. In total, nine Aggies competed in the NCAA West Preliminary Meet in 2022: 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.
Limited to just two cross country meets in the 2020-21 academic year due to COVID-19 reshuffling the teams' schedules, the NM State men's team finished sixth and the women's team third at the WAC Championships. During the outdoor track & field season, the Aggies posted a runner-up finish at the WAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships with Emily Stutesman picking up a runner-up finish in the 10,000-meter run. Corinne Hanson also secured a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The 2019-20 season brought a multitude of success in both the track & field and cross country realms before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the Aggies' outdoor track & field season. NM State captured the WAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship for the first time in the history of the program, getting a good deal of assistance from Rath's distance crew. On the final day of the meet, Jess Dominguez claimed a WAC Championship finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase - one of seven WAC titles the Aggies claimed to help them take home the team trophy.
Dominguez and Corinne Hanson picked up valuable points for the Aggies in the 5,000-meter run, too, with each of them finishing in the top three. The Aggies' distance medley relay squad also won a WAC title, paving the way for their team's historic run to the team title.
In cross country, both the Aggies' men's and women's teams posted fourth-place finishes at the 2019 WAC Championships. Three Aggies secured All-WAC honors of some kind.
During the 2019 outdoor season, six New Mexico State athletes qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds including Crissey Amberg competing in the 1500m for the second time in her career.
NM State posted a second place finish as a team and eight individual titles went home with the Aggie squad. Many athletes broke program records at the league meet, including Elana Kresl, who posted a time of 10:47.66 in the 3,000m steeplechase, and Crissey Amberg, who recorded a time of 4:23.89 in the 1,500m and 2:10.10 in the 800m.
The Aggies finished second at the WAC Indoor Championships in 2019 with seven individual titles belonging to the Crimson and White. Under Rath's direction, Amberg (5:00.96) and Julia Yescas (5:01.90) earned all-conference accolades in the mile at the meet. Additionally, Jess Dominguez (10:05.04) came away with the silver in the 3000m while Yescas (10:07.72) also earned all-conference honors. In the 5000m, Dominguez placed fourth with a time of 17:45.02.
During the 2018 cross country season, Rath saw the women’s cross country team place fourth at the conference championships while the men came away with eighth.Yescas and Dominguez earned all-conference accolades following the postseason meet.
With Rath helping the runners, Jess Dominguez brought home her first women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week honor after clocking a WAC-best 17:29.1 in the 5k race at the Highlander Classic. Dominguez also took home third in the 6k race at the Capital Cross Challenge when she posted a time of 21:33.8. At the WAC Championships the men's team finished in seventh while the women's team took fourth. Julia Yescas and Dominguez earned All-WAC honors for their efforts at the meet.
Under Rath's guidance during the 2018 indoor track season, five athletes scored in the distance races for the Aggies at the WAC Championships. Cassey Amberg posted a fifth place finish when she clocked in at 5:06.28 for the mile at the event while Sydney Salas took home sixth in the 5,000m with a time of 17:50.13. Jess Dominguez (10:22.81) and Stephanie Quintero (10:25.21) placed seventh and eighth, respectively for the 3,000m while Leah Salazar took fifth in the 800m (2:17.39) at the championship.
For the outdoor season, Rath saw four of his athletes place among the top-eight at the WAC Outdoor Championships. Salazar took fifth in the 800m (2:21.24) while Julia Yescas came away with fourth in the 1,500m (4:53.11). Salas finished in fifth during the 5k race, posting a time of 17:43.73 and Quintero came through in eighth for the 10k with a time of 337:48.25.
Rath was named the 2017 WAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year following his distance squad's first place finish at the 2017 WAC Cross Country Championships. Crissey Amberg posted a runner-up finish at the meet and she joined Julia Yescas and Jess Dominguez on the All-WAC teams following the race. On the men's side, four of the five Aggie runners who placed at the conference championship came away with All-WAC accolades following the team's third-place finish.
Rath's athletes saw much success during the 2016-17 season. Crissey Amberg placed sixth at the Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, earning All-WAC first team honors. Julia Yescas and Cassey Amberg earned second-team honors with Yescas winning the Freshman of the Year award. Under Rath's guidance, Crissey Amberg won the mile at the WAC Indoor Championships and placed second in the 3000m at the meet. She also was named the WAC Outstanding Track Performer at the meet. During the outdoor season, Crissey Amberg broke the school record in the 1,500m and was the first Aggie to ever qualify for the NCAA Regionals in the event.
Rath comes to NM State after three successful seasons at Texas Tech where he was a volunteer coach. He helped coach the Men’s Track and Field team to the 2014 Big 12 Outdoor Conference Championship and helped them finish fifth at the 2015 Indoor National Championship. He also guided Kennedy Kithuka to a 2013 Cross Country individual national runner up finish, as well as Sharlene Nickle to the 2014 Jamaican Senior National Championship in the 1500-meter event. He also coached Jocelyn Caro to a third place finish at the USATF Junior Championships.
Prior to his arrival at Texas Tech, Joseph Rath served as an assistant coach at Morehead State University. There, he helped guide three male and four female student-athletes to the MSU all-time top 10 Cross Country performance list. In his two years with the track program, 12 school records were established. Desmond Bell became the first OVC champion for MSU in seven years with his 800-meter conference victory.
Before going to MSU, Rath coached at Butte Community College in 2011, where he served as an assistant track coach in charge of the distance team. At Butte, he coached the men’s team to the 2011 Golden Valley Conference Championship. Under his guidance, Mary Finn recorded a new program 5k record. Rath also coached two athletes to the California Junior College State meet.
As an athlete, Rath ran for Southern Oregon University and was part of the 2008 cross country team that finished fourth at NAIA nationals. He also ran one season at Chico State University.
Rath received a Masters of Arts in Psychology from CSU Chico in 2013. He received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Southern Oregon University in 2009.
Rath is married to the former Purity Biwott and they reside in Las Cruces.
