ALBUQUERQUE, N.M – San Diego State women’s track and field is primed to begin the 2026 indoor season this Friday at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational hosted by the University of New Mexico. The two days of competition will be streamed live on FloTrack starting on January 23 through January 24.
Friday’s events will begin at 2:00 p.m. PT with the women’s “B” pole vault division on the field. The track events will begin at 3:00 p.m. PT with the unseeded 200-meter dash. Saturday’s action starts much earlier with the 60-meter hurdles beginning at 9:00 a.m. PT on the track and the shot put starting 30 minutes later on the field.
SDSU last competed at the MLK Invitational during the 2024 indoor season and posted eight new program top 10 marks along with setting 19 personal bests. Some of the key competitors from 2024 will be returning in 2026 including Aji Mbye, Xiamara Young, Charlize James, Jada Pierre and Lidia Major. James enters the season as the reigning Mountain West Indoor 60-meter hurdles champion.
The Aztecs will be sending 20 student athletes that make up 26 individual entries across 10 different events. They will also have three entries in the 4x400 meter relay as well. A trio of freshmen, Taylor Anyansi, Kelia Bentham and Shari Hurdman will be making their collegiate debut. Alongside the freshmen, five other athletes, Brinley Campbell, Ana Luisa Couto Soares Ferraz, Karina Janik, Isabella Nilsen and Chloe Williams will be representing the Aztecs for the first time.
This weekend’s meet will be the first six (not including the NCAA Indoor Championships) on the 2026 indoor schedule. San Diego State will also head to Seattle, Washington twice and Reno, Nevada three times in the coming weeks.
Individual Notes
- Aji Mbye’s 23.30 mark is the fastest seed time in the 200-meter unseeded race. She also owns the twelfth fastest seed time in the 60-meter dash invitational race.
- Ana Luisa Couto Soares Ferraz leads the team with four individual entries across four different events. She will compete in the long jump, shot put, 60-meter hurdles and as a member of one of the 4x400 meter squads.
- Xiamara Young enters the weekend seeded second in the triple jump with a mark of 13.51 meters and eighth in the long jump with a mark of 6.19 meters.
- The unseeded 200-meter dash and long jump will each have five Aztecs competing, tied for most of any event of the weekend.