Cross Country Opens Season At Sharks Invitational

Sept. 1, 2006

Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami men’s and women’s cross country teams will open the season at the Sharks Invitational this Saturday, September 2 at Markham Park in Sunrise, Fla.

The event, which is being hosted by Nova Southeastern University, will begin with the men’s 5K race at 8 a.m. followed by the women’s 5K race at 8:30 a.m.

Other teams competing this weekend include Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Florida Tech, Saint Leo, Florida Gulf Coast, Palm Beach Atlantic and Johnson &Wales.

The Hurricane men will look to win their fifth straight season-opening meet and return a strong and experienced group. Six runners return from last season’s squad that ranked as high as 10th in the South Region including seniors Zach Castiglione (Brighton, Mich.), Seth Kampf (Ellicott City, Md.) and Jon Scheiner (Katy, Texas), as well as sophomore Ryan Woodley (Silver Spring, Md.) who ended the season as Miami’s top finisher at both the ACC Championships and NCAA South Regional.

The Miami women will be led by junior DeeDee Phlatts (Silver Spring, Md.) who was among the Hurricanes’ top-2 finishers in six of seven races last season. Phlatts, who was Miami’s top finisher in two events, recorded a season-best third-place finish at the FIU Invitational.

Directions to Markham Park:
Follow I-595 West toward I-75. Take the SR-84 exit- EXIT 1A- toward SW 136TH AVE. Merge onto FL-84 West. Make Left turn onto FL-84 East. Markham Park entrance is at 16001 West State Road 84.