Cross Country Opens Season September 3
Story by Ben Horton, SID Intern
Aug. 29, 2005
Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams begin their seasons on September 3 at the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish Invitational located in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The 2005 edition of the Hurricane harriers features returning experience mixed with an influx of youth.
The men are once again led by senior Alex Brutvan and junior Tom Berry, the team’s number one and two finishers, respectively, throughout last season. Alex is one of two seniors on the team and says, “This year could be a break through year for us. We have a solid recruiting class and we’re looking to make an impact this year.”
Brutvan notes that the newcomers are already making an impact in practice and he hopes that will follow through in meets. Coach Mike Ward agrees, “At this point in the season we have nine guys where last year we had four. The work has been done this summer, now we just need to go and see what happens.”
The men’s team is truly experiencing a youth movement with 10 of the 15 student-athletes being freshmen and sophomores. The first couple of meets will be used as a testing ground to get these young runners some collegiate racing experience. But that does not stop the team from thinking big. They plan on contenting for the titles at the Sailfish Invitational and the Gator Invitational on September 9.
The women’s side is remarkably similar. They are also returning two seniors including Melanie Schultz who was an All-South Region performer and the team’s number one finisher all last season. Schultz will lead a young group of runners as nine of the 15 student-athletes on the 2005 roster are either freshmen or sophomores.
“I want to see the rest of our team noticeably improve and see if we can finish the season on a stronger note,” says Schultz.
After completing the inaugural 2004 ACC season, both teams feel as if they have a better idea of the competition. Having seen just how tough the ACC is, the teams are going to expand their schedules traveling to the Notre Dame Invitational and Chili Pepper Invitational.
“We need to run in elite meets against elite competition in order to prepare for the ACC championships and the NCAA South Regional,” says Ward. The increased competition will help prepare the runners for what they will face in their championship meets.
Chances to see the Hurricanes are plentiful as most of the competitions are held in the state of Florida, including both the ACC Championships (Tallahassee) on October 31 and NCAA South Regional Championships (Gainesville) on November 12.
