MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — FIU's track and field program completed its weekend of competition at the Conference USA (CUSA) Outdoor Championships on Sunday.
FIU's women secured a fourth-place finish, its best since 2014, and collected seven medals over the three-day meet. Michaelle Valentin, Arndis Oskarsdottir and Amaya Bien-Aime all won gold medals to lead the Panthers' strong performance. Valentin and Luca Keszthelyi took home silvers to add to FIU's medal count. Both Hannah Jansen and Lisa Redlinger secured bronze to round out the women's medalist winners.
On the men's side, Blake Orr took gold in the javelin. Additionally, Raynell Chambers finished fifth in the 400 meters with a school-record time of 46.35 seconds.
Valentin continued to add to her decorated career as a Panther with a gold medal in the hammer throw (66.37 meters), followed by a silver (55.04 meters) in the discus. She has now collected a total of nine medals at CUSA Championship meets in her FIU tenure, five outdoor and four indoor.
Oskarsdottir dominated the javelin event with a throw of 52.84 meters, over three meters clear of second place, to secure a gold medal in her freshman season. Her throw sits as the 28th-best in Division I and 13th-best in the Division I East Region. Teammate Hannah Jansen's throw of 47.42 meters earned her a third place finish, matching her Bronze medal from the 2023 CUSA Outdoor meet.
FIU's depth in the high jump showed through once again after the Panthers swept the medal stand at the 2025 CUSA Indoor meet. Bien-Aime, who won silver at indoors, took first, clearing 1.75 meters. Keszthelyi, who won gold at indoors, took second, clearing a height of 1.72 meters.
In the distance events, Redlinger produced a third place finish in the 10,000 meters with a time of 36:06.65. Valerie Lastra finished just outside of the top-three in the 5,000 meters, crossing the line in 16:56.29. Ania San Roman Lopez (5,000m) and Shelly Bruchstein (triple jump) both recorded season-best marks.
Orr's toss of 62.50 meters in the javelin earned him the CUSA crown, his first CUSA Championship medal. Chambers has shown steady improvement in the 400m and his 46.35 second-time now sits him alone atop the all-time FIU 400 meter ranks. Nigel Katende (triple jump), Nick Desanto (pole vault), Joshua Webster (3000m steeplechase) and Chambers also recorded PRs at the meet while Alex Gabossy (high jump) posted a season-best.
UP NEXT
A select group of qualified FIU competitors will head to the NCAA East Regionals in Jacksonville, Fla., of which run from May 28-31.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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