MIAMI (January 11, 2016) – The FIU men's and women's indoor track & field teams will get back to work this weekend as it takes part in back-to-back meets at UAB. On Friday, Jan. 13, the Panthers will compete in the UAB Blazer Invite and then in the UAB Vulcan Invite on Saturday, Jan. 14. Both meets will be held at the Birmingham CrossPlex and will run all day.
Both teams will look to build on what was a very solid performance last weekend at the Clemson University Orange & Purple Classic. The Panthers recorded five top-three finishes and posted two school records during the day-long event.
Alton Eliphar, who was tabbed the C-USA Male Track Athlete of the Week, broke his own school record in the 200m with a time of 21.15, good enough for a second-place finish. He broke the previous mark of 21.35 set last season at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet in Allendale, Michigan. His new mark is currently the best time in the nation in the 200m.
Clarissa Cutliff, this week's C-USA Female Field Athlete of the Week, turned in the women's team's top individual performance last weekend, setting a new school record of 1.85m in the high jump – a mark that currently sits as the second-best height in the nation to date – and finishing second. She surpassed the previous record of 1.83m set 15 years ago by former All-American Farah Jean-Pierre at the Razorback Invite in 2001 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
2017 UAB BLAZER INVITE MEET INFORMATION
PARTICIPATING TEAMS:
Alabama State
Central Florida (W)
Florida A&M
Florida Atlantic (W)
FIU
Georgia State
Jacksonville State (W)
Mississippi State
New Orleans
Samford
Shorter
South Alabama
USF
Southern Mississippi
St. Norbert College
Virginia Commonwealth
2017 UAB VULCAN INVITE MEET INFORMATION
PARTICIPATING TEAMS:
Alabama A&M
Belhaven
Florida A&M
Florida Atlantic (W)
FIU
Georgia State
Hinds Community College
Jackson State (W)
Jacksonville State
Meridian Community College
Mississippi State
Montevallo
New Orleans
Northwestern (La.)
Savannah State
Shorter
Southern Mississippi
Southern University
St. Norbert College
Troy
Tulane (W)
UA-Huntsville
Virginia Commonwealth
West Alabama
William Carey
Fans are encouraged to follow the team on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUTrackXC) for all the latest FIU Track and Cross Country news.
Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
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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 56,000 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/.
