JACKSONVILLE, Fla (May 25, 2023) - For the second consecutive year, FIU pole vaulter
Filippa Miller is heading to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Miller's mark of 4.22m tied her for third as she picked up the automatic qualifying spot to advance to Austin.
"Filippa's performances this season, and the past few weeks in particular, have just been so strong," said FIU head coach
Ryan Heberling. "Coming off a 4.35m jump at conference, we had a lot of confidence heading into this one, and she put together another great performance."
"Hopefully we're peaking at the right time," said jumps coach
Chris Sullivan. "We'll be in Austin in a few weeks and see if we can put it all together there. She's has just continued to get better and better."
"I feel great. I'm really happy," said Miller. "This meet is coming here and doing what you have to do to qualify - that's what I did, and I'm very excited."
In the hammer, sophomore
Michaelle Valentin narrowly missed out on a top-12 qualifying spot, finishing 16th in the field of 48 with a throw of 61.02m.
In the javelin,
Hannah Jansen and
Christiana Ellina finished 32nd and 40th, respectively, to cap outstanding freshmen campiagns.
Nicole Janse Van Rensburg also competed in the pole vault, finishing in 35th.
Miller joins Queshun Watson-Riggins as FIU athletes who have punched their ticket to nationals. Watson-Riggins will have another opportunity to qualify Friday when he competes in the triple jump. Valentin (discus),
Qua'liyyah Taylor (discus) , and
Celia Rifaterra (high jump) will compete on the final day of competition on Saturday.
Last season, Miller earned second team All-American honors in Eugene, and is looking to take it a step further now.
"I was happy about placing 14th, but this year I would love to be first-team," Miller said. "That's my goal."
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