Canes XC Ready for ACC Championships
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of Miami cross country program will compete in the ACC Cross Country Championships Friday morning.
Miami will have 14 student-athletes competing in The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be held at the Apalachee Regional Park, in Tallahassee, Florida. Eight men are slated to compete in the 8K race scheduled to start at 9 a.m., and six women will represent the Hurricanes in the 6K race at 9:45 a.m. Both championships will be carried live on ESPN3.
“We are familiar with the course from racing it earlier in the season,” Miami distance coach Damon Griffiths said. “We prepared as best as we can be for the conditions. I expect breakout races for several of the runners, after seeing how practices have been going the past couple of weeks.”
The Hurricanes will look to sophomore Sean Grossman and junior Jon Keller to lead the men in Tallahassee. Grossman finished eighth in the men’s 8K race at the USF Invitational with a time of 26:17.00, while Keller was next to cross the finish line for the Hurricanes, placing 13th with a time of 27:03.00. Senior Kevin Marsh rounded out Miami’s top three runners on the men’s side at USF, finishing with a time of 27:42.30. Nick Kaleel, Luke Dublirer, Sean Hagert, David Maldonado and Alex Margetts round out the Miami men slated to run the 8k race.
Miami’s women will continue to be led by junior Gabrielle Hesslau, who is coming off a fifth place finish at the USF Invitational. Her Top 5 performance at USF came with a personal-best time of 22:00.90 that moved Hesslau into fifth place on Miami’s all-time women’s 6K list.
Freshman Anne Den Otter and sophomore Mulloy Manning are two other Hurricanes to watch on the women’s side. Den Otter was the next Hurricane to cross the finish line at USF, finishing with a time of 23:50.70, while Manning rounded out Miami’s top three on the women’s side with a time of 24:07.90. Andrea Harrah, Carla Rodriguez and Kelly Williamson complete the group of women competing for the Hurricanes at the 2015 ACC Cross Country Championships.
“This meet will have one of the deepest fields of runners of any meet in the country,” Griffiths said. “They have to come in confident in their training and block out the rest.”
For all the latest information on the Miami Hurricanes, follow the official Twitter feed, @MiamiHurricanes, or “Like Us” on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes. Follow @MiamiTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country. The program is also on Instagram.
