Terice Steen takes 400m hurdles crown; NM State earns eight other medals on final day. (Photo By: Emilio Garcia, Courtesy)
Source: NMSU Athletics
Story By: Emilio Garcia
All good things come to an end. Competing on day three of the Conference USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships from Larry K. Durham Track at Kidd Field, NM State returned to action on Sunday with several strong performances.
Terice Steen became the second CUSA Champion of the weekend for the Aggies after taking gold in the 400m hurdles, and Aliyah Logan took the lone silver medal finish of the day in the 100m hurdles. Cameron Hodges, Thulisile Amon, Mickaliliah Vassell and the 4×400 relay team rounded out the podium finishes for the Crimson & White with all taking bronze.
Top-Eight Finishes
– Terice Steen, 400m Hurdles, 57.90 (1st)
– Aliyah Logan, 100m Hurdles, 12.98m (2nd)
– Terice Steen, Jahnya Hill, Jhana Downie, Micakliliah Vassell, 4×400 relay, 3:38.92 (3rd)
– Cameron Hodges, Triple Jump, 12.46m (3rd)
– Thulisile Amon, 800m, 2:10.12 (3rd)
– Mickaliliah Vassell, 400m Hurdles, 1:01.28 (3rd)
– Thobile Amon, 1500m, 4:34.14 (4th)
– Jhana Downie, 400m, 54.13 (4th)
– Jhana Downie, 200m, 23.25 (4th)
– Maggie Gibbs, 5000m, 17:13.89 (5th)
– Emily Stutesman, 5000m, 17:21.98 (6th)
– Ladina Kobler, Discus, 46.09m (7th)
– Thobile Amon, 5000m, 17:58.22 (8th)
– Breanna Moss, Triple Jump, 11.83m (8th)
Track Headlines
The 4×100 relay team of Sierra Brewer, Jhana Downie, Grace Pendarvis, Aliyah Logan posted the second-fastest time in the event, though they were ultimately disqualified after a stumble at the finish line.
Battling through illness, Thobile Amon posted a fourth-place result in the 1500m finals, posting a time of 4:34.14 seconds to tally five points towards the NM State total.
Aliyah Logan recorded an all-conditions best of 12.98 (+4.3 m/s) in the 100m hurdles, taking home second place behind UTEP’s Marissa Simpson. This became the first time Logan had broken the 13-second mark.
Thulisile Amon closed her NM State career with a bronze medal finish in the 800m run, recording a time of 2:10.12.
The 400m hurdles proved to be the most impactful event on the final day of competition as a trio of Aggies finished in the top eight, spearheaded by senior Terice Steen. Steen took home the gold medal after recording an NM State best of 57.90. The Jamaican native posted a time of 57.64 in the JAAA National Championships this past July.
Returning from injury, Mickaliliah Vassell took the bronze medal after crossing the line with a time of 1:01.28, while Breanna Moss took fifth with a mark 1:03.27. In total, the Crimson & White tallied 20 points in the event.
Competing in a quartet of events on the final day of competition, Jhana Downie recorded a pair of fourth place finishes in the 200m dash (23.25) and the 400m dash (54.13).
The 5000m run saw the largest collection of Aggies in the same event on the final day of action, with seven NM State student-athletes in total. Maggie Gibbs paced the team with a fifth-place finish, posting a time of 17:13.89. Emily Stutesman recorded a time of 17:21.98 to finish sixth overall, while Thobile Amon put a cap on her Crimson & White career after posting an eighth-place result with a time of 17:58.22.
Closing the Aggies’ time at the 2024 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the 4×400 relay team of Terice Steen, Jahnya Hill, Jhana Downie and Mickaliliah Vassell recorded a podium finish, taking third with a final time of 3:38.92.
Field Headlines
Opening the last day of competition with the discus, Ladina Kobler became the lone Aggie to advance to the finals after recording a mark of 43.94 meters (144-02) in prelims. In the finals, the freshman from Amriswil, Switzerland posted a new personal best with a mark of 46.09m (151-2″) to take seventh overall – her second personal best of the weekend following Saturday’s hammer throw.
In the triple jump, Cameron Hodges became the first Aggie to record a podium finish on Sunday, taking third place with an all-conditions best of 12.46m (40-10.5″). Joining Hodges in the finals was Breanna Moss, taking eighth overall with a mark of 11.83m (38-9.75″). Moss, a junior from the Bahamas, has not competed in the event since her time at Miami Northwestern HS.
2023 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships – Final Standings
1. Liberty – 177.7 pts.
2. UTEP – 138 pts.
3. NM State – 119 pts.
4. MTSU – 104.2 pts.
5. FIU – 96.2 pts.
6. LA Tech– 86 pts.
7. Jax State – 38 pts.
8. WKU – 28.4 pts.
9. Sam Houston– 25.5 pts.
Up Next
Despite closing the regular season as a track & field team, the Aggies have several student-athletes set to participate in the NCAA West first round, hosted by the University of Arkansas at John McDonnell Field. The first round will begin Wednesday, March 22 and run through Saturday, March 25.
Should any NM State student-athletes place in the top 12 during the first round, they would then advance to the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Championships will be hosted by the University of Oregon at Hayward Field from Wednesday, June 5 through Saturday, June 8. The last member of the Crimson & White to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships was Kayli Farmer, a javelin thrower who took home Second Team All-America honors in 2017.
For complete coverage of NM State Track & Field, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateXCTF), Instagram (@NMStateXCTF), and like us on Facebook (NMStateTrackXC).
