UTEP, NM State athletes compete in day two of NCAA West Regional

Posted: May 25, 2023 / 11:22 PM MDT

Updated: May 25, 2023 / 11:34 PM MDT

SACRAMENTO, California (KTSM) – Several UTEP and New Mexico State track and field athletes competed in day two of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Regional in Sacramento, California on Thursday.

UTEP (Courtesy: UTEP Athletics)

UTEP’s javelin throwers Arianne Morias and Roosa Yloenen both punched their tickets to nationals on Thursday.

Morais finished in first overall with a personal-best 57.61-meter (189-0) launch. Her mark is ranked second on the program’s top-10 list. Simpson’s previous best was 57.38m (179-3). Morais will make her second appearance at nationals in as many seasons. Last year in Eugene, Ore., Morais placed 22^nd with a 50.26m (164-11). Morais transferred from the University of Florida prior to the 2021 campaign.

Yloenen advanced with a season-best 53.40-meter (175-2) toss, while it will mark her second trip to nationals. She threw in Eugene during the 2021 season, finishing 18^th with a 50.28m (164-11) mark.

Morais and Yloenen are the first pair of UTEP female javelin throwers to advance to nationals since 1996 when Kirsi Hasu and Terhi Palovuori were named All-American with third and fifth place finishes, respectively. Morais is the first UTEP female javelin thrower since Anna Wessman to advance to consecutive national championships (2009 and 2010).

New Mexico State (Courtesy: NM State Athletics)

A special season for a special team continues. Coming off their first Outdoor Track & Field Championship, a select group of seven Aggies made their way to Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California for the 2023 NCAA West Regionals, hosted by Sacramento State University. Aliyah Logan, Terice Steen and Jhana Downie advanced out of the preliminaries, becoming the first Aggies to do so since 2018.

Emily Birch and Miranda Tchetchuoa kicked off the day for NM State in the hammer throw, putting up strong performances. Birch stood in sixth place through two heats, but stiff competition landed the fifth-year senior in 20^th place with a mark of 60.75m (199-3″). Tchetchuoa recorded a mark of 52.47 (172-1″) to conclude her first season with the Crimson & White, and her first appearance at the NCAA Regionals.

Bailey Beene took the stage next in the javelin and gave it her all, recording a new personal best of 49.95m (163-10″) – eclipsing her previous best mark set at the Don Kirby Tailwind Open. Taking the top spot in her flight and in fourth place after two flights, Beene finished in 18^th place.

The 100m hurdles came up next, where Aliyah Logan and Valissa Brown put their talents to the test. Running in heat one, Logan recorded a runner-up finish (19th overall) with a time of 13.38, earning an automatic qualifier to Saturday’s quarterfinals. She is the first Aggie to advance out of the preliminary stages at the NCAA West Regionals since 2018.
Running in the fifth heat, Brown recorded a time of 13.61 – her third fastest time of the season.

Jhana Downie was the next Aggie to take the track, lining up for the 400m run – her first event of the day. Competing in the third heat she posted a time of 53.25, her third fastest of the season. Barely missing out on a top-three placement, her season in the 400m came to a close; but Downie would still compete in the 200m later in the night.

Terice Steen, the only active Aggie to make three NCAA Regionals, took part in the First Round of the 400m hurdles. After taking her position in lane one of the fourth heat, she closed the gap down the stretch, taking third in her heat and 15th overall with a time of 58.43 to earn an automatic qualifier. This will be her first time making it out of the prelims, and joins Aliyah Logan in advancing to competition on Saturday.

Downie ended the Aggies day in the 200m dash, gaining ground late in the race to edge out Iyana Gray of TCU with a time of 23.38 – good for third in her heat (22nd overall) and securing an automatic qualifier. This makes her the third Aggie to qualify for the quarterfinals, and marks the first time multiple NM State student-athletes advance since 2013.

Quarterfinal Schedule
100m hurdles – 7:15 p.m.

400m hurdles – 8:25 p.m.

200m – 8:50 p.m.

UP NEXT
The three NM State student-athletes who made it through the first round move onto the quarterfinals, to be held on Saturday, May 27^th. Aggie action begins at 7:15 p.m., and fans can follow along on ESPN+ and through official results from the NCAA. 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).