Sept. 9, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami men’s and women’s cross country teams will open the season this Saturday, September 11 at the Florida International/Our Lady of the Lourdes Cross Country Invitational being held at Tropical Park in Miami.
The women’s collegiate division race will start at 7 a.m. with the men’s collegiate race beginning at 7:30 a.m. Both the men’s and women’s races will be two-miles in length.
The UM men return eight runners from last season’s team that ranked 11th in the South Region, including junior standout Alex Brutvan (Boca Raton, FL), and five promising newcomers.
Brutvan was the Hurricanes top finisher in all seven events last season including victories at the FIU Invitational and Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish Invitational. He placed 35th overall in the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships and 55th in the NCAA South Region Cross Country Championships.
Along with Brutvan, the Hurricanes return junior James Mullaly (Ellicott City, MD), Tom Berry (Stamford, CT) and Zach Castiglione (Brighton, MI), and William Bludgus (Bayonne, NJ) the team’s lone senior.
Berry was the Hurricanes second best finisher in all seven events last season, including second-place overall finishes at the FIU Invitational and the PBA Sailfish Invitational, as well as a top-55 finish at the BIG EAST Championships.
Castiglione was a consistent performer for the Hurricanes scoring in five of seven events. He recorded two top-10 overall finishes, as well as a 65th-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships.
To complement the experienced veterans, Miami added a talented group of freshmen to the mix including Richard Bernard (Charlotte, NC), Patrick Ryan (Howell, NJ), Matt Clemente (Naples, FL), Alex Paley (Albany, NY) and Joey Harper (Tallahassee, FL).
The Hurricane women return their top three runners from last season including junior Melanie Schultz (Davidson, MI), sophomore Lindsay Rohrs (St. Charles, IL) and senior Marilyn Ruiz (Hallendale, FL).
Schultz was the Hurricanes top finisher in five of the six meets last season including individual victories at the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish Invitational and the FIU Invitational. She also recorded a 40th place finish at the NCAA South Region Cross Country Championships.
Rohrs competed in five events as a freshman for the Hurricanes in 2003, placing second on the team in four of those meets. She also placed in the top 75 at the NCAA South Region Cross Country Championships.
Ruiz, the lone senior on the team, was a consistent performer for the Hurricanes last season and was UM’s top finisher at the Hatter Cross Country Invitational. Other returning runners include sophomores Ginou Etienne (Miami), Allison McElhaney (Jacksonville, FL), Melissa Preston (Richmond, VA), and junior Zully Marie Pascual (Leisure City, FL).
Miami added three newcomers to the team this season including Katie McInvale (Columbia, MO), Amy Miller (Farmington Hills, MI) and DeeDee Phlatts (Silver Spring, MD).