MIAMI (March 21, 2017) – A record-setting performance in her collegiate track and field debut has earned freshman discus thrower Gabrielle Rains the Conference USA Field Athlete of the Week, as announced by the league office this afternoon. The honor is the first of Rains' career.
 
A native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Rains finished second in the discus on March 19 at the University of Miami Hurricane Invitational with a school-record throw of 53.10m, surpassing the old mark set by Joeane Jadotte in 2009 at the Azusa Pacific Bryan Clay Invitational. In addition, Rains' throw set a new Canadian under-20 record surpassing the previous distance of 52.52m set by Michelle Brotherton on May 29, 1986, a span of 31 years.  
 
Saturday's appearance in the Hurricane Invitational was Rains' first collegiate outdoor meet, with her setting the school and Canadian U-20 record on her third collegiate throw.
 
Through last weekend, Rains has the top mark in C-USA and tied for the 10^th-best nationally.

The Panthers will return to Coral Gables this weekend for the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on Saturday, March 25.
 
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).

##### 

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/.