Miami XC Opens 2012 Season
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami cross country teams will kick off the 2012 season this weekend as they take part in both the South Florida Invitational in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 7 and host the Greentree Invitational on Sept. 8.
“We haven’t held the Greentree Invitational for a couple years and Miami has a long-standing tradition of hosting this event,” said assistant cross country coach Damon Griffiths. “We are very pleased to be having 21 of the best cross country teams in South Florida in the high school realm to come and run.”
The Hurricanes will be one of many Florida schools, such as Florida Gulf Coast, Florida Atlantic and UCF, to compete in the South Florida Invitational held in Tampa, Fla. USF will play host to the event.
“My expectation is to compete hard,” Griffiths added. “We have a large group of freshmen on the men’s side that is looking to be in the top seven.”
With the combination of returning runners and the talent gained with the new freshmen class, Griffiths feels that Hurricanes will have great depth and it will be an instant impact on the program.
“We are very excited about the key returns. Our senior leader, Greg Kaczka, was the number one runner for cross country last year and set the school record in the 1500 outdoors. We are also expecting big things from Connor Adams, Luke Fontaine, Sean Pezzulo and JaCee Jarnagin.
“We’re very excited about our newcomers that we have, led by Bert Irigoyen, Kevin Marsh and Peter Duffy. They should allow us to compete at the highest level that we have been able to in a long time,” Griffiths added.
On the women’s side, several returners are expected to lead the way, including Lindsi Arrington, Brooke Dovell and Allison Ludwick.
“The women’s team may not be as deep as the men’s team, but I think we’re very strong at the top,” Griffiths said. “We have some runners who are capable of coming out and bringing home a top-three finish this weekend.”
The Hurricanes will be tested this season with a schedule that includes five meets before traveling to the ACC Championships.
“The schedule has been set up to give us the challenges that we need that we should be able to be prepared for the ACC as well as the South Regional,” Griffiths said.
The Greentree Invitational will be hosted at Indian Hammock Park this Saturday. The college races start at 7 and 7:30 a.m., the high school varsity follow at 8 and 8:30 a.m. and JV races follow afterwards
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