Miami Prepares for Disney Cross Country Classic
Oct. 9, 2009
CORAL GABLES – The University of Miami cross country teams head to Orlando to compete in the 14th Annual Walt Disney World Cross Country Classic, Saturday, Oct. 10 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.
The event is the fourth of the season for each Hurricane team, but will be the first morning race of the year. The men’s team will be the first to compete with a scheduled start at 7:45 a.m. on an 8k course. The women will run a 5k race and will get under way at 8:30 a.m.
So far this season, the men have been led by junior Charles Michel and senior Julio Bonilla. With a personal-best time of 25:57 last week at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C. – Michel ran the fastest 8k race for any UM male since 2006 and moved into 15th all-time with a time of 25:57. Bonilla has placed second for the `Canes in each of the previous three races.
Joining Michel and Bonilla, will be sophomores Austin Rector and Matthew Wilson. Freshmen Damon Campbell and Greg Kaczka will also compete. Fellow freshman Reginald Buford will be making his collegiate debut as well.
Sophomore Page Price is to the women’s team as Michel is to the men’s – as the first Hurricane to cross the finish line in each of the season’s previous races. In her last race, Price set her new personal-best time by over 30 seconds on a 5k course at 19:15 – 16th on the UM all-time list.
Sophomore Anna Bona and junior Emma Steppe have competed well for Miami this season, but junior Katharine Woodard has been impressive so far this season, finishing second for the `Canes in the Great American Cross Country Festival – smashing her previous PR with a time of 19:20.
Juniors Monika Freiser, Caitlin Knapp and Jackie Sullivan will be joined by the underclassmen of Casey Crist, Jillian Gil and Nehali Patel in the event.
Visit hurricanesports.com on Saturday for the meet results and recap.
Miami will return to Central Florida on Friday, Oct. 16 to compete in Stetson University’s Hatter Invitational in its next meet.
