Aggies Open 2024 XC with Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open

NM State plays host for lone home meet of the season at the NMSU Golf Course on Aug. 31.

Source: NMSU Athletics (Photo by Emilio Garcia: Courtesy)

The wait is finally over. On Saturday, Aug. 31, NM State cross country returns to action with the 2024 Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open. Running at the NMSU Golf Course, both Aggies men’s and women’s teams will compete, along with a host of other programs within the region. Fans can follow along with the meet through chronotrack.

The Starting Line

The Aggies will host the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open to begin the 2024 season on Saturday, Aug. 31. The women’s 5k will start at 7:30 a.m., with the men’s 5k beginning at approximately 8:00 a.m.
NM State welcomes multiple programs to Las Cruces for the meet, including Big 12 members Texas Tech and Arizona alongside New Mexico, UTEP, El Paso Community College, University of the Southwest, New Mexico Junior College and Mesa Community College.
The Aggies will compete in four regular season meets 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 November 13.
NM State was picked fourth in the CUSA Cross Country Preseason Men’s Poll, while the women were selected sixth. Middle Tennessee and Liberty represented the top two teams in each poll, with the Blue Raiders earning 12 of a possible 20 first-place votes across both polls.

2023 Year in Review

Maggie Gibbs led the way at the 2023 edition of the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open, taking first place on the NM State home course with a new personal best time of 17 minutes and 13.68 seconds. Thomas Croshaw made his Aggie debut and posted NM State’s top finish on the men’s side, taking fifth overall with a time of 14:54.91.
Thomas Croshaw took the top spot on the men’s side at the 2023 CUSA Cross Country Championships, taking 13^th overall with a time of 23:42.2 to earn a second team All-CUSA selection along with being selected Freshman of the Meet. Jordan Torres represents the returner with the best time at the meet, taking 25^th with a time of 23:20.3.
Nine Aggies – Thobile and Thulisile Amon, Adams Biwott, Thomas Croshaw, Maggie Gibbs, Anekin Hetman, Kayla O’Connell, Emily Stutesman and Jordan Torres represented the Crimson & White at the 2023 NCAA Mountain Regional. Maggie Gibbs earned the top finish among the Aggies after recording a time of 20:52.0.

Fresh Faces

The Aggies welcome 13 new members of 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.

CUSA Check-In

After adding four new member universities in the 2023-24 season (Liberty, Jacksonville State, NM State and Sam Houston), Conference USA welcomed one new member for the 2024-25 season in the Kennesaw State Owls. The Owls joined CUSA from the ASUN conference, where the women posted a runner-up finish at the 2023 ASUN Cross Country Championship.
Last season, Middle Tennessee swept both the men’s and women’s Conference USA Cross Country Championships, their fourth in the last five seasons on the men’s side and the third in five seasons for the men.

One Year Ago… | Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open | 9.2.23

Maggie Gibbs led the way at the 2023 edition of the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open, taking first place on the NM State home course with a new personal best time of 17:13.68. Thomas Croshaw made his Aggie debut and posted NM State’s top finish on the men’s side, taking fifth overall with a time of 14:54.91.
In total, six student-athletes recorded new personal records at the meet including Gbbs, Emily Stutesman (17:13.68), Thulisile Amon (18:10.35), Jordan Torres (19:11.03), Angela Korte(19:13.94) and Nick Allred (15:47.74).

For complete coverage of NM State Cross Country, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateXCTF), Instagram (@NMStateXCTF), and like us on Facebook (NMStateTrackXC).

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Levi Gwaltney

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