MIAMI (May 18, 2017) – A school-record seven FIU track and field standouts have qualified for the NCAA East Regional Track and Field Championships May 25-27. This year's East Regional will be held at the University Outdoor Track and Field Complex at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
 
The women's team advanced five student-athletes to the regionals; sophomore Clarissa Cutliff (high jump), freshman Gabrielle Rains (discus), senior Tiffanni Hernandez (Javelin), freshman Jovana Ilic (triple jump) and sophomore Terrisa Russell (discus), while senior Chris Sullivan (high jump) and junior Daniel Neptune (110m hurdles) will represent the men's team. All seven look to qualify for the NCAA Championships that will take place at the University of Oregon's historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, June 7-10.
  
Cutliff (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater H.S.), who just won her second-straight high jump title (1.80m) at the Conference USA Championships in El Paso, Texas, last weekend, qualified for the regionals with a mark of 1.82m, which ties the school record. That height, which she achieved in back-to-back meets at the Florida Relays on April 1 and at the University of South Florida on April 21, is the top mark in C-USA this season and is tied for 17^th in the nation. This will be Cutliff's second appearance at an NCAA event this year. In February, Cutliff, the reigning C-USA indoor high jump champion, earned Second-Team All-America honors finishing 13^th with a height of 1.76m at the NCAA Championships.  
 
Rains (Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada/Bev Facey Community H.S.) qualified for the regionals in the discus with a school-record throw of 53.10m, set in her first collegiate meet at the University of Miami on March 18. That mark is the second-best throw in C-USA this year and 42^nd in the nation. In addition, Rains' 53.10m is the 11^th-best U20 throw in the world this year and broke a 31-year-old Canadian record. She recently finished second at the C-USA Championships with a throw of 50.95m.  
 
Hernandez (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada/Dr. Charles Best Secondary School) is coming off a third-place finish in the javelin at the C-USA Championships with a throw of 45.05m. She qualified for the regionals with a school-record mark of 46.83m at the University of Miami on March 25. Her qualifying mark is third-best in C-USA and tied for 69^th in the nation.  
 
Ilic (Serbia/Bosa Milicevic) took third in the women's triple jump at the C-USA Championships with a personal-best leap of 12.75m, which was also the mark that qualified her for the NCAA Regionals. That distance ranks third in the conference and is tied for 61^st in the nation. Ilic was the only underclassman to finish in the top eight of the event at the conference championships.
 
Russell (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./South Broward H.S.) rounds out the women's qualifiers moving onto the regionals in the discus with a qualifying mark of 50.06m – a personal-best – set on March 25 at the University of Miami. Her throw is fifth-best in Conference USA and is tied for 92^nd in the nation.
 
On the men's side, Sullivan (Cocoa Beach, Fla./Cocoa Beach Senior H.S.) qualified for the high jump after posting a height of 2.12m at the C-USA Championships, a mark that ties the school-record. The height also ranks third in the conference and is tied for 72^nd in the nation.
 
Neptune (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit H.S.) is the Panthers' lone track qualifier for the regionals, advancing in the 110m hurdles. Neptune qualified with a time of 14.12 set at the recent Conference USA Championships. That time is the third-best in the conference and is tied for 72^nd in the nation.
 
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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 reognized 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/.