New Mexico State University Women's Track

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.

Carmichael, Ph.D. Interim Co-Head Coach of Track and Field Larry Carmichael enters his fifth season at NMSU with new responsibilities as the Interim Co-Head Coach of Track and Field. In the 2016 season, Carmichael's fourth at NM State, he directed several athletes to outstanding performances. Sophomore Kayli Farmer was the Indoor Western Athletic Conference Champion in the high jump and Taniya Mitchell, a transfer sophomore, stepped up to finish secondnd in the 20lb. weight throw. In the 2016 outdoor season, Carmichael's throwers scored 37 points at the WAC conference meet, highlighted by a 1-2 finish in the javelin by Freshman Kimberly Salinas and Kayli Farmer. Kim Salinas was named WAC Field Event Freshman of the Year. She was also a NCAA West Regional Qualifier (competing at Lawrence, Kan.) based upon her personal best javelin throw of 151'4" (46.13m). Salinas was also named to the USA Track and Field Coach's Association All-Academic Women's Track and Field Team for 2016. In the 2015 season, NMSU throwers expanded upon the 2014 productivity by scoring 46 points at the WAC Outdoor Championships. Leading this effort was soph Akuadasuo Ezenyil imba who placed 2nd in both the discus throw and the hammer throw for a total of 18 points toward the team score. Following her was freshman Kayli Farmer who was the WAC Conference Champion in the javelin and 7th in the high jump scoring 12 team points. Freshman Taylor Stutely placed 4th in the shot put and 5th in the discus scoring 9 points and junior Jessica Schmitt placed 2nd in the shot put contributing 8 points. As a follow-up to the regular season efforts, Freshman Kayli Farmer brought national attention to NMSU and the Women's Track and Field program by placing 2nd in the javelin throw at the USA Junior National Championships in Eugene, Oregon in June, 2015. She responded to the "big stage" competition with a personal best throw of 157'3" - a personal improvement of over 15'- ranking her 2nd on the NMSU all-time performance list. In addition this performance qualified her to represent the USA as part of the Junior Pan American team which competed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in August, 2015 whereshe placed 9th in a competition which included a new World Junior record javelin throw. In his first two seasons, Carmichael has made an immediate impact by helping to coach two Western Athletic Conference Indoor Champions in the pentathlon - Zoe Meade in 2013 and Des Cota in 2014. He also helped coach Zoe Meade to set a school record in the heptathlon at 5304 points during the 2013 outdoor season. Carmichael also directed senior Kelsey Brennan to a WAC Conference championship in the javelin in 2013 with a NCAA Western Regional qualifying mark of  157'8"  (48.08m) .In 2014,  NM State  throwers began to establish a strong presence by scoring  28 team points to help the team to a fourth place finish in the WAC Outdoor Championships. This included a second place finish in the discus throw by Auadasou Ezenyilimba and a second, fourth and sixth place finish in the javelin throw by Tiffany Gerber, Nicolette Serrao and Alexandra Winebark. Carmichael has three decades of coaching experience in track and field.  Most recently, Carmichael spent 21 years at Louisiana Tech University where he established a national reputation for consistently developing national and international class throwers.  His coaching record includes 16 straight years where Carmichael guided at least one student-athlete to the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships.  He also guided several athletes to compete at the international level in the throwing events. During his tenure at Louisiana Tech, Carmichael coached 56 individual conference champions, 40 NCAA Division I Preliminary Round (Regional) Qualifiers, 24 Division I National Qualifiers and 14 Division I All-American athletes, three of whom were National Runner-Up in their respective events.  The athletes Carmichael coached at Louisiana Tech set 12 school records. In 2009, Carmichael coached All-American Nadia Alexander to become Louisiana Tech's first Penn Relays throws champion.  Alexander threw the shot 16.68m (54.875) to claim the women's collegiate division title at the nation's oldest, continuously held Track Relays "carnival" event.  In addition, Carmichael has guided two women throwers to championships in the prestigious Texas Relays.  All-American Brenda-Grace Hunt won the women's javelin event in 2005 with a distance of 56.90m (1868) and in 1999, All-American April Malveo won the women's discus title throwing 57.26 (18710), which remains the Louisiana Tech school record in these events. Carmichael also coached 2006 NCAA All-American Jason Morgan in the discus during his collegiate career and beyond.  Morgan established the Jamaican national record in the discus throw, and competed in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.  Morgan placed 18th in the discus at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.  Morgan also competed in the 2007 World Championships, 2007 Pan American Games and the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. Carmichael also coached 2001 NCAA All-American athlete Melissa Gibbons as she competed for Jamaica in the shot put and discus at the 2002 British Commonwealth Games. In 1999, Carmichael guided April Malveo to double All-American honors in shot put and discus, and Olivia McKoy to one All-American honor as throwers at Louisiana Tech.  These two student-athletes scored 13 points at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships that season.  As a team, Louisiana Tech scored a program-best finish of 17th at that NCAA Championships, all of the points coming from the throwing events.  This was McKoy's second time as All-American, as she finished as National Runner-Up in the javelin in 1998 as well. Malveo ended up ranking in the top eight in the nation in the discus in 1998 and 1999, and finished as a finalist in the 2000 U.S. Olympic team trials.  McKoy went on the represent Jamaica in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, was a bronze medalist in the 2006 British Commonwealth Games, and again was an Olympic Games competitor in Bejing, China, in 2008.  She is the Jamaican national record holder in the javelin. From 1988-91, Carmichael coached at Essex High School in Vermont where he guided 10 state championship throwers during his time as an assistant coach at the school. Carmichael was the inaugural head coach of cross country and track and field at Meramec Community College in St. Louis, MO, from 1968-70.  He produced NJCAA All-Americans in the long jump and high jump during his time at Meramec.  Carmichael completed the Ph.D degree in education in 1974 from Michigan State University.  During the years of 1974-1991, Carmichael held academic faculty appointments in physical education/special education at the University of Virginia, Michigan State University and the University of Vermont. Carmichael is a graduate of Bethel Park High School (PA) where he competed in cross country and track and field.  He was a four-year letterman in track and field at Kent State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1967 and was a Graduate Assistant Coach assisting the USA Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame legend, Douglas L. Raymond while completing a Master's Degree in education in 1968.  Carmichael and his wife, Diane, are the parents of four grown children and have three grandchildren.  D. Larry Carmichael, Ph.D. Larry Carmichael Interim Co-Head Coach D. Larry Carmichael, Ph.D. Interim Co-Head Coach of Track and Field Larry Carmichael enters his fifth season at NMSU with new responsibilities as the Interim Co-Head Coach of Track and Field. In the 2016 season, Carmichael's fourth at NM State, he directed several athletes to outstanding performances. Sophomore Kayli Farmer was the Indoor Western Athletic Conference Champion in the high jump and Taniya Mitchell, a transfer sophomore, stepped up to finish secondnd in the 20lb. weight throw. In the 2016 outdoor season, Carmichael's throwers scored 37 points at the WAC conference meet, highlighted by a 1-2 finish in the javelin by Freshman Kimberly Salinas and Kayli Farmer. Kim Salinas was named WAC Field Event Freshman of the Year. She was also a NCAA West Regional Qualifier (competing at Lawrence, Kan.) based upon her personal best javelin throw of 151'4" (46.13m). Salinas was also named to the USA Track and Field Coach's Association All-Academic Women's Track and Field Team for 2016. In the 2015 season, NMSU throwers expanded upon the 2014 productivity by scoring 46 points at the WAC Outdoor Championships. Leading this effort was soph Akuadasuo Ezenyil imba who placed 2nd in both the discus throw and the hammer throw for a total of 18 points toward the team score. Following her was freshman Kayli Farmer who was the WAC Conference Champion in the javelin and 7th in the high jump scoring 12 team points. Freshman Taylor Stutely placed 4th in the shot put and 5th in the discus scoring 9 points and junior Jessica Schmitt placed 2nd in the shot put contributing 8 points. As a follow-up to the regular season efforts, Freshman Kayli Farmer brought national attention to NMSU and the Women's Track and Field program by placing 2nd in the javelin throw at the USA Junior National Championships in Eugene, Oregon in June, 2015. She responded to the "big stage" competition with a personal best throw of 157'3" - a personal improvement of over 15'- ranking her 2nd on the NMSU all-time performance list. In addition this performance qualified her to represent the USA as part of the Junior Pan American team which competed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in August, 2015 whereshe placed 9th in a competition which included a new World Junior record javelin throw. In his first two seasons, Carmichael has made an immediate impact by helping to coach two Western Athletic Conference Indoor Champions in the pentathlon - Zoe Meade in 2013 and Des Cota in 2014. He also helped coach Zoe Meade to set a school record in the heptathlon at 5304 points during the 2013 outdoor season. Carmichael also directed senior Kelsey Brennan to a WAC Conference championship in the javelin in 2013 with a NCAA Western Regional qualifying mark of  157'8"  (48.08m) .In 2014,  NM State  throwers began to establish a strong presence by scoring  28 team points to help the team to a fourth place finish in the WAC Outdoor Championships. This included a second place finish in the discus throw by Auadasou Ezenyilimba and a second, fourth and sixth place finish in the javelin throw by Tiffany Gerber, Nicolette Serrao and Alexandra Winebark. Carmichael has three decades of coaching experience in track and field.  Most recently, Carmichael spent 21 years at Louisiana Tech University where he established a national reputation for consistently developing national and international class throwers.  His coaching record includes 16 straight years where Carmichael guided at least one student-athlete to the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships.  He also guided several athletes to compete at the international level in the throwing events. During his tenure at Louisiana Tech, Carmichael coached 56 individual conference champions, 40 NCAA Division I Preliminary Round (Regional) Qualifiers, 24 Division I National Qualifiers and 14 Division I All-American athletes, three of whom were National Runner-Up in their respective events.  The athletes Carmichael coached at Louisiana Tech set 12 school records. In 2009, Carmichael coached All-American Nadia Alexander to become Louisiana Tech's first Penn Relays throws champion.  Alexander threw the shot 16.68m (54.875) to claim the women's collegiate division title at the nation's oldest, continuously held Track Relays "carnival" event.  In addition, Carmichael has guided two women throwers to championships in the prestigious Texas Relays.  All-American Brenda-Grace Hunt won the women's javelin event in 2005 with a distance of 56.90m (1868) and in 1999, All-American April Malveo won the women's discus title throwing 57.26 (18710), which remains the Louisiana Tech school record in these events. Carmichael also coached 2006 NCAA All-American Jason Morgan in the discus during his collegiate career and beyond.  Morgan established the Jamaican national record in the discus throw, and competed in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.  Morgan placed 18th in the discus at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.  Morgan also competed in the 2007 World Championships, 2007 Pan American Games and the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. Carmichael also coached 2001 NCAA All-American athlete Melissa Gibbons as she competed for Jamaica in the shot put and discus at the 2002 British Commonwealth Games. In 1999, Carmichael guided April Malveo to double All-American honors in shot put and discus, and Olivia McKoy to one All-American honor as throwers at Louisiana Tech.  These two student-athletes scored 13 points at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships that season.  As a team, Louisiana Tech scored a program-best finish of 17th at that NCAA Championships, all of the points coming from the throwing events.  This was McKoy's second time as All-American, as she finished as National Runner-Up in the javelin in 1998 as well. Malveo ended up ranking in the top eight in the nation in the discus in 1998 and 1999, and finished as a finalist in the 2000 U.S. Olympic team trials.  McKoy went on the represent Jamaica in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, was a bronze medalist in the 2006 British Commonwealth Games, and again was an Olympic Games competitor in Bejing, China, in 2008.  She is the Jamaican national record holder in the javelin. From 1988-91, Carmichael coached at Essex High School in Vermont where he guided 10 state championship throwers during his time as an assistant coach at the school. Carmichael was the inaugural head coach of cross country and track and field at Meramec Community College in St. Louis, MO, from 1968-70.  He produced NJCAA All-Americans in the long jump and high jump during his time at Meramec.  Carmichael completed the Ph.D degree in education in 1974 from Michigan State University.  During the years of 1974-1991, Carmichael held academic faculty appointments in physical education/special education at the University of Virginia, Michigan State University and the University of Vermont. Carmichael is a graduate of Bethel Park High School (PA) where he competed in cross country and track and field.  He was a four-year letterman in track and field at Kent State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1967 and was a Graduate Assistant Coach assisting the USA Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame legend, Douglas L. Raymond while completing a Master's Degree in education in 1968.  Carmichael and his wife, Diane, are the parents of four grown children and have three grandchildren.