LAS CRUCES, N.M: The New Mexico State indoor track and field team is heading to Boise, Idaho, Friday, Feb. 29 through Saturday, March 2, to compete at the 2008 WAC Indoor Championships at the Jackson Indoor Track.

Head coach Orin Richburg said that his team should be ready for the competition.

“We have had five meets leading up to this one and now it’s time to put our student-athletes up against the other WAC schools and see what we can do,” Richburg said.  “We need to go into this competition confident and strong.  It just boils down to how ready the athletes are.”

 Leading the 23 athletes to Boise are seven Aggies who currently rank on the top-10 performance lists throughout the WAC.  They are freshman hurdler Devin Brooks (Seattle, Wash.), sophomores sprinter Leah Benton (Gilbert, Ariz.), thrower Jordan Veney (Pitsburgh, Pa.), distance runners Ingrid Flores (El Paso, Texas) and middle distance runner Precious Nelson (Whittier, Calif.), along with juniors distance runner Christina Herrera (Cantuillo, Texas) and jumper Isabel Chea (El Paso, Texas).

Brooks is currently in a three-way tie for the fourth place spot in the 60-meter hurdles on the WAC list.  At the Bon Barrett Open in Colorado Springs, Colo., Brooks posted a season best mark of 8.68.  Brooks also holds the 60-meter hurdler record at NMSU with this mark.

Benton currently holds two top-10 spots in the WAC.  This first is in the 60-meter dash and in the second is in the 200-meter dash.  She recorded both of the personal-best marks at the University of Washington Invitational, in Seattle, Wash., where she clocked a time of 7.78 in the 60-meter dash and a time of 25.03 in the 200-meter dash. 

These times are also good enough to be ranked in the NMSU all-time record book.  Benton places eighth on the 60-meter list and third on the 200-meter list.

Nelson rounds out the top-10 in the WAC in the 800-meter run.  She recorded a personal best time of 2:22.00 at the Texas Tech Indoor Invitational, in Lubbock, Texas.  This time also places her fourth on the NMSU all-time record list.

Herrera and Flores hold the fifth and sixth place spots, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run throughout the WAC.  At the University of Washington they both recorded life-time best marks.  Herrera crossed the finish line in a time of 18:23.92 and Flores recorded a time of 18:30.64.  Both of these Aggies can be found in the NMSU indoor record book in sixth and seventh places.

Chea is in a two-way tie for seventh place in the long jump in the WAC and holds the 10^th place spot in the triple jump.  At the University of Washington Invitational Chea recorded a leap of 17-05.00 in the long jump and a mark of 34-06.25 in the triple jump.

Veney holds the seventh place spot in the weight throw throughout the WAC.  At the Southwest Host Classic, in Flagstaff, Ariz. Veney recorded a launch of 52-6.  This mark also ties her for second place on the NMSU all-time record list. 

The complete schedule of the Indoor Championships is listed below and there will also be live stats throughout the course of the two-day event at www.wacsports.com.  All final results and releases can be found at www.nmstatesports.com following the conclusion of the meet.