Canes Get Final Tune Up For ACC Championship

LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in its final meet of the regular season Saturday evening at the Westminster Academy Sports Complex.

The race served as the Hurricanes’ final race before it takes to the line at the 2014 ACC Championship. 

Sophomore Gabrielle Hesslau (Downers Grove, Ill.) won the women’s 5-kilometer race in a time of 19:40.75 to lead the women’s team to a runner-up finish. Hesslau’s time was her second-best performance of the season. 

“It was big for Gabrielle’s confidence to win another invitational tonight,” said distance coach Damon Griffiths. “She has been getting better each week.”   

Fellow sophomore Frida Carlsson (Vanersborg, Sweden) also posted a top 10 finish as she finished in a time of 20:22.42 to place sixth.

Senior Julia Koch (New Monmouth, N.J.) and freshman Mulloy Manning (Southern Pines, N.C.) also turned in strong performances as they placed 14th (21:39.66) and 15th (21:46.45) respectively. 

On the men’s side, the Hurricanes did not place, but still featured some strong individual performances.

Senior Douglas Dourado (Soo Paulo, Brazil) paced Miami as he clocked a season-best time of 16:23.79 to finish third. Sophomore Jon Keller (Circle Pines, Minn.) was not too far behind as he placed ninth, posting a performance of 16:58.44. 

Sean Grossman and Anthony Ricketts rounded out the Miami finishers as they placed 11th (17:15.29) and 15th (18:08.89), respectively. 

The Hurricanes return to action next week as they head to the ACC Championship in Earlysville, Va.