Hesslau Wins Third Straight FAU Invitational
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The University of Miami’s Gabrielle Hesslau won her third consecutive FAU Invitational Friday night, kicking off the 2016 cross country season with an excellent performance.
The senior crossed the finish line at South County Regional Park in Boca Raton, Fla., in 18:35.3 to become the FAU Invitational women’s 5K champion for the third straight year.
“For Gabby to win this meet for the third straight year shows that she continues to be the bar for the program,” Miami distance coach Damon Griffiths said. “She has come back with the same fire that she left the track season with.”
Anne Den Otter was the next Hurricane to finish the women’s 5K, finishing sixth with a time of 19.12:6. Carla Rodriguez rounded out the top three Canes, finishing 12th with a time of 20:19.1, while Mulloy Manning’s time of 20:47.3 placed her 15th and gave Miami’s women four runners in the top 15.
Megan Brown, Molly Rickles, Laura Puentes, Sophia Corde and Samantha Chenkin also ran for the Canes’ women’s team that finished third with 53 points.
Sean Grossman was Miami’s top male competitor, finishing second with a time of 15:37.9, while senior Jon Keller gave Miami two top five finishers with his fifth place finish (15:45.3).
“Sean and Jon were great today,” Griffiths said. “They had the job to keep the pack together early, then they could start racing after two miles. We need more out of the next pack of runners.”
Adam George and Sean Hagert also finished among the top 15 in the men’s 5K. George finished 11th with a time of 16:30.5, while Hagert placed 14th with a time of 16:42.6.
Michael Miano, Luke Dublirer, Nick Kaleel and David Maldonado rounded out the Miami men’s team that finished second with 44 points.
“I was not pleased with the overall execution of the race plans from both teams today,” Griffiths said. “We have to be more disciplined when it comes to the middle miles. I think we learned a lot from today’s meet and that is something we can hopefully take into our next competition.”
Following this weekend’s season-opening race, the Hurricanes will travel to Boone, N.C., to compete at the Mountain to Sea Duals hosted by Appalachian State on Sept. 16. The Canes will close out the month in Gainesville, Fla., racing in the Mountain Dew Invitational on Sept. 24.
Miami will also run in the USF Invitational (Oct. 14) and the Miami Duals (Oct. 20), their final two races before the 2016 ACC Cross Country Championships in Cary, N.C., on Oct. 28. The Miami Duals will be Miami’s first home cross country event since hosting the Miami Greentree Invitational in 2012.
NCAA Regional Championships are slated for Nov. 11 in Tallahassee, Fla., with the NCAA Championships taking place on Nov. 19 in South Bend, Ind.
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