ORLANDO (Sept. 27, 2019) -The FIU cross country team saw a number of strong performances en route to a pair of third place finishes at the UCF Invitational Friday evening. 

MEN'S 8K RESULTS
WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS

On the women's side, Rahel Gebretsadik paced the Panthers for the second consecutive meet, running 22:57 in the 6K to take sixth place in a field of 41. For Gebretsadik, a junior, the time was a 46 second personal best. FIU placed two more runners inside the top-12, with Anais Da Silva finishing in 23:19 and Sherilene Gelderblom right behind in 23:21. Daria Deicmane and Esmerelda Rodriguez rounded out the top five for the Panthers, who scored 75 points to finish third in the five team field, behind UCF and Florida while ahead of UCF and Jacksonville. 

The men placed two runners in the top-10, led by a personal best performance from sophomore Eliseo Torres, who broke 26:00 for the first time as a Panther, finishing the 8K course in 25:57 for sixth place. For Torres, it was a 40 second PR, his best performance since the USF Cross Country Invitational last October. Daniel Areces took seventh with a 26:14, also a 40 second PR for the senior. Christian Aubert, Christian Alexander, and Eric Romo concluded the scoring for FIU to ensure a third place finish for the Panthers, besting Bethune-Cookman and Jacksonville. 

UP NEXT
The Panthers will have a bye week before concluding the regular season at the FSU Invitational, before traveling to Bowling Green for the Conference USA Championships.

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