CORAL GABLES, Fla (March 25, 2023) - The FIU track and field program competed at Cobb stadium in Coral Gables for the second consecutive weekend, and once again saw a number of impressive performances across the board as the Panthers completed their second meet of the outdoor campaign.
Freshman
Blake Orr took home the victory in the javelin with a mark of 57.82m on his third attempt, besting his mark of 56.87m he set last week. Junior
Desmond Dorceus earned the win in the discus with a mark of 53.44m. The Panthers also saw strong performances from Nathan Stepp and
Jason Rotger, who placed second and fourth, respectively.
In the pole vault,
Kayden Cecil rewrote his own school record in the event - jumping 5.05m for a third place finish.
Freshman
Raynell Chambers reset his freshman record in the 400 that he broke last week - this time, running 47.17 to place second overall of 27 competitors.
"Raynell, Desmond, Kayden and Blake were each great today," said head coach
Ryan Heberling. "It's exciting to see them show these kind of performances early in the season. They're each just scratching the surface of how good they can be."
In the hammer throw, sophomore
Michaelle Valentin came close to a personal best with a throw of 59.60m to take second place in a field of 13 athletes.
Celia Rifaterra also earned a second place mark in the high jump with a leap of 1.71m on her third attempt.
A number of distance runners also excelled competing at the UCF Invite for FIU.
Emilie Christiansen earned the victory in the women's 5000m, running 17:49 to place first among 19 competitors.
Delilah Ayan finished eighth. Elsewhere in the meet, Eli Torres took home a third place mark in the men's 5000m with a time of 15:13.
The Panthers will now send a number of athletes to the prestigious Texas Relays next week, before returning to Coral Gables to compete in the Hurricane Alumni Invitational in two weeks.
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