McElveen and Gregoire will miss Felsberg Invitational

Gregoire will miss the Felsberg Invitational on March 10 (Shawn Stevens/The Beacon)

By Justin Elliott/ Contributing  Writer

sports@fiusm.com

FIU is set to host the Felsberg Invitational on March 10 close to home at the Miramar Ansin Sports Complex. The Invitational is an event that pays homage to the fallen track & field athlete Michael Felsberg.  It will be the first glance at FIU’s track & field for this outdoor season.

The Panthers will go toe-to-toe against many local South Florida universities such as University of Miami, Nova Southeastern, Florida Atlantic, Florida Memorial and Johnson and Wales.  With it also being an Olympic year, a few professional athletes have signed up to compete and train as well.

“The track meet will be a good mix of collegiate competition but you’ll also get to see some of the rising stars of track and field.” FIU track & field Head Coach Eric Campbell said.

FIU’s women’s track & field will be without two star pupils; Marissa McElveen and Benia Gregoire as they are headed to Idaho for the NCAA Track & Field Championships. Both have established rankings high enough to be awarded the opportunity to compete for the NCAA Championship.

Both known for their competitive nature, Gregoire and McElveen performed exceptionally well in the Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships.

McEleveen finished third in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.05; third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.58; while also placing sixth in the long jump at the SBC Indoor.

Gregoire, a previous Sun Belt Field Athlete of the week, set a new Sun Belt Championship record for the women’s weight throw of 19.78 meters. In the previous Feldsberg Invitational, She won the Hammer Throw with a hurl of 50.06; she also finished top ten in both Discus and Shot Put.

Even with the absence of McElveen and Gregoire, Campbell still has confidence in his team’s abilities.

“It’s really just fun for us; the last thing we want right now is to have our kids feel that pressure to go out and run the world record when they don’t have to,” Campbell said.

Coach Campbell mentions a few of the top performers for this year’s Feldsberg Invitational as T’Keyah Dumoy, Sun Belt Champion Lakeisha Kelley, La’Shae White and the Outstanding Freshman of the Year Raqurra Ishmar.