MIAMI (August 12, 2017) – FIU women's track and field standouts Clarissa Cutliff (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater H.S.) and Tiffanni Hernandez (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada/Dr. Charles Best Secondary School) not only had impressive 2016-17 on the track, but in the classroom as well. Cutliff, who will be a junior, and Hernandez, who recently earned her master's degree from FIU, were recognized by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as All-Academic honorees.
 
Cutliff, who posted a 3.65-grade point average (GPA) in psychology, won her second-straight high jump title (1.80m) at the Conference USA Championships in El Paso, Texas, on May 27, and qualified for the NCAA East Regional Prelims 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. Cutliff advanced to the NCAA Championships where she earned All-America honors for the second time during the 2016-17 season. She also took home All-America recognition during the indoor season in the high jump.
 
Hernandez, a graduate student who has a 3.95 GPA in her master's classes in marketing, is coming off a third-place finish in the javelin at the C-USA Championships with a throw of 45.05m. She, along with Cutliff, were part of a record-setting seven student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA East Regional Prelims, when she recorded a school-best mark of 46.83m at the University of Miami on March 25. Her qualifying mark was third-best in C-USA and tied for 69^th in the nation at the time. 
 
To qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have met at least one of the following athletic standards:
 
- For the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org.
 
- For the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).
 
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 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/.