MIAMI (April 8, 2017) – FIU decathlete
Chris Sullivan came into Saturday in first place in the decathlon, however the senior could not hold on against tough competition, finishing second in the event during the final day of the University of Miami Hurricane Alumni Invitational at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables. But despite not finishing on top of the medal stand, Sullivan still etched his name in the school's record books with a record-breaking performance.
Sullivan finished the 10 events with 6,973 points, setting a new school-record, shattering the old point-total of 6,648 set in 1995 by Richard Curry at the prestigious Penn Repays in Philadelphia. His best finish among the five second-day events came in the 1500m, taking second with a time of 4:52.84.
On the women's side, freshman Rahel Gabretsadik posted the best finish of her young collegiate career taking second in the 1500m with a time of 4:41.74
The Panthers will get a much-needed weekend off this weekend before heading to Tampa for the USF South Florida Invitational, on April 21-22, in Tampa. That will mark the final regular season meet of the year for FIU.
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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 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 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/.
