With a strong second day led by the sprinters at the Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships, FIU's women charged up to 103 points and third place behind host Arkansas State (122.5) and North Texas (117.5).
Senior T'Keyah Dumoy got 16 points on her own with second places in the 55-meter dash and 200-meter dash and anchored FIU's one event win, the 4x400 relay, after junior Lashae White led off, senior Lakeisha Kelley took the second leg and senior Nia Anderson brought the baton around to Dumoy. Their 3:44.59 was just 0.29 off the meet record set by FIU in 2001, just 0.16 off the arena record held by Southern University and 0.65 over the Sun Belt season record FIU ran in 1999.
Getting points In the 200 behind Dumoy (24.15) were third place Lakeisha Kelley (24.34) and eighth place junior Lashae White (25.18). In the 55, senior Marissa McElveen hit the line a blink behind Dumoy, 7.07 to 7.03, good for fourth place.
The women began the day in sixth. McElveen started the move with a fourth in the triple jump, bounding 40-1 1/2. Sophomore Raqurra Ishmar (61-1 1/2), freshman Miriam Pierre (54-11 1/2) and senior Kimberlee Dekrey (54-5 1/4) came in third, fifth and sixth, respectively in the hammer throw.
Senior Samia Adan's 2:15.89 in the 800 got FIU a third place, six points.
The men remained in eighth place, totalling 34 points over the two-day event. Marcus Ghent was named Freshman of the Year after finishing fifth in the long jump Sunday (23 feet 2 3/4 inches) and second in the triple jump Monday (50 feet).
Correcting my mistake from yesterday: Ghent and senior Aubrey Smith, who finished third in the long jump with a leap of 23-5 1/2, got the first points for the FIU men. Smith also got points in the triple jump Monday with a sixth (47-3 3/4).
