Courtois Sets Pole Vault Record At UAB Blazers Invitational

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Freshman Jordan Courtois tied the school record in the women's pole vault and was one of three Privateers to post Top 10 individual finishes as the University of New Orleans track and field team competed in the UAB Blazers Invitational on Friday in the Birmingham CrossPlex.

After not recording a height during last Friday's season opener at the Purple Tiger Invitational, Courtois cleared 3.35 meters to equal the feat set by Bailey Daigle last season and finished tied for eighth among 25 event participants in Birmingham. Junior Alireza Rafiei had UNO's best overall finish on Friday with a fourth-place showing in the men's shotput with a toss of 15.4 meters, and freshman Michael Nicholls finished ninth in the 60-meter hurdles with a mark of 8.19 seconds.

Junior Alexia Fortenberry narrowly missed being the fourth Privateer to post a Top 10 mark, coming in 11th in the women's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.58. While finishing 11th overall in the event, Fortenberry's time was the eighth-fastest by a participating collegiate runner on Friday.

Freshman Alba Fernandez led the UNO women in both the 60 meter (7.87) and 200 meter (25.21) to finish 26th and 15th respectively. Senior LaKayla LaFrance finished 16th in the women's high jump (1.59M) and freshman Kohi Brignac was 29th in the women's weight (11.72M).

On the men's side, juniors Federico Machado and Edmund Pine finished 20th in the 3000 meters and 800 meters, respectively, junior Dario Scantlebury was 34th in the 200 meters (23.05) and sophomore Shehu Inuwa was 43rd in the 400-meter run (53.55).

The UAB Blazers Invitational is one of two events UNO will be participating in over the weekend as the Privateers will remain in Birmingham overnight and take part in the Vulcan Invite on Saturday. From there New Orleans returns to action on Jan. 31 when it hosts the Privateer Invitational in Birmingham before participating in the South Alabama Invitational on Feb. 7. The 2016 Southland Conference Indoor Championship is slated for Feb. 15-16.