MIAMI (May 13, 2017) – FIU freshman
Gabrielle Rains took part in her first Conference USA Track and Field Championships today at Kidd Field on the campus of UTEP in El Paso, Texas, but wasn't fazed one bit, competing against the league's elite performers.
The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native posted a second-place finish in the discus with a throw of 50.95m, reaching the medal stand and joining teammate Chris Sullivan with a medal, after he took third in the men's decathlon yesterday. Rains is currently ranked seventh in the world among all women's U20 discus throwers with a distance of 53.10m set on March 18 at the University of Miami. That mark also broke a 31-year-old Canadian record.
Sunday marks the final day of competition with the remainder of the field events starting at 3 p.m., followed by the finals of the running events at 6:30 p.m.
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 eight 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/.
