Meet Information
2017 Conference USA Championships
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017
Clinton, Mississippi| Choctaw Trails
 
The Basics
The FIU men's and women's cross country programs got back to action on Saturday, Oct. 28 as they took part in the Conference USA Championships at Choctaw Trails in Clinton, Mississippi.
 
Women's Highlights
The Panthers finished eighth in the women's 5K race and was led by sophomore Sherilene Gelderblom (Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa/Kanonkop) who took sixth in a time of 17:22.41, to earn first team All-Conference USA honors. Today's performance marks the best finish for FIU in the Conference USA Championships, while Gelderblom's finish is the first-ever all-C-USA honor for the Panthers in cross country.
 
In addition to today's performance, Gelderblom has posted a banner season for the Panthers winning the prestigious Disney Cross Country Classic women's 5K race at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 7, posting a time of 18:00.8, almost 30 seconds ahead of the second-place competitor. She also turned in her a second place finish in the Mountain Dew Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, on Sept. 23 in her collegiate debut, with a school 5K-record time of 17:21.2.
 
Other top finishers on the women's side included:

- Brittany Watson (New South Wales, Australia/Jannali) - 18:23.11
- Mackenzie Mayers (London, Ontario/Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School) - 18:59.23
- Rahel Gerbretsadik (Tel-Aviv, Israel/Bialik Rogozin) - 19:28.55
- Sydne Grier - (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail) - 19:39.73
- Sabrina Quijano (Miami, Florida/Our Lady of Lourdes Academy) - 20:02.65
- Sofia Fernandez (Miami, Fla./St. Brendan) - 20:13.09
- Michelle Fuentes  (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) - 22:58.01 

Men's Highlights
The FIU men's team took part in the 8K race with junior Jorge Areces (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) took the top spot for the Panthers with a time of 27:41.68.
 
Other top men's finishers included:

- Christian Vitagliano (Hollywood, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) - 27:54.86
- Daniel Areces (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) - 28:38.31
- Alec Dominguez (Weston, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) - 28:42.89
- David Suarez (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson) - 30:17.56
- Alexander Villanueva (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Charles W. Flanagan) - 31:43.99 

Up Next
FIU's men's and women's cross country teams will get back on the track on Nov. 11 when they take part in the NCAA South Regional Cross Country Championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUMensSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUMensSoccer) for all the latest Men's Soccer 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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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).
 
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 eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer 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 $8.9 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/.