NEW ORLEANS (June 13, 2016) – Coming off a ninth-place finish in the triple jump during this year's NCAA National Championships, senior
Marcus Ghent capped off the 2016 outdoor season being named a Second-Team All-American by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), announced on Monday.
On Saturday, Ghent, along with 23 other participants, competed for the national championship in the triple jump at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Among the 24 student-athletes in the event, Ghent recorded the ninth-best mark with a jump of 15.87 meters. The 15.87-meter jump was the second-best mark of his career.
The native of native of Cheverly, Maryland, qualified for the finals after setting the school-record mark of 16.21 meters to finish fourth in this year's NCAA East Prelims in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 28. The mark set a personal record for the FIU senior, who made his first appearance in the NCAA Championships.
Ghent's previous PR was a mark of 15.62 during the 2016 Conference USA Outdoor Championships. The result not only set the then-school record, but earned Ghent Third-Team All-Conference USA honors as well as a bronze medal.
Ghent finished the 2016 campaign with six top 10 finishes, including three top five in the triple jump.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
