NEW ORLEANS (September 25, 2017) -- Following its second-place finish in a field of 32 teams Saturday at the University of Florida / Mountain Dew Gator Invitational, the FIU women's cross country program finds itself in the regional rankings for the first time in program history. In Monday's U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional polls, FIU holds the 15^th and final spot in the South Region.
 
"While this recognition is great, there is so much work ahead of this team, and it doesn't change the focus and the goals of the program," said Head Track and Field Coach Ryan Heberling. "This team knows it is just one race, and there are other achievements to go after. This is a step in the right direction, but it leaves us wanting more, not just happy to be recognized. While we are excited to be ranked 15^th, we need to do what needs to be done to become 10^th, and so on."
 
Individually, sophomore Sherilene Gelderblom (Middelburg, South Africa) finished second overall, with a time of 17:21.2 in the 5K race. She led the team which finished near the bottom in the same event last season.
 
"We were happy to run well at this meet, but we remain motivated to keep moving towards our goals," said Assistant Track and Field Jermaine Felix, who is in charge of the distance group. "The most impressive thing about this team is their focus, which has been there since before the summer. We missed more than a week because of the hurricane, and they all kept working on their own when we were separated. That work showed in the times that we turned in, and it helps us in the direction we are moving."
 
The next time on the course for FIU will be on October 7, at the Disney Cross Country Classic in Orlando.
                                                                                                                                                                                    
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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 Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. 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 with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.