Core Four Leading Canes XC
By Andrew Freeman
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami is one of the most recognizable brands in college athletics.
With so much success across so many different sports, Hurricanes student-athletes have developed a reputation of excellence. While most casual Hurricanes fans are mainly familiar with the storied traditions in football and baseball, four cross country runners are changing the culture in Coral Gables and making a name for themselves, and the program, in the process.
Gabrielle Hesslau, Anne Den Otter, Sean Grossman and Jon Keller are ready to lead the team to success, with hopes of a top-10 finish in the conference. Under the leadership of these four individuals, the University of Miami cross country team is evolving into a competitor.
Damon Griffiths has been the Hurricanes cross country coach for nine years and is proud to rep his alma mater. Griffiths cited that these four runners are great examples of how the program is going to get better.
“These four are the base of what we want to do here,” Griffiths said. “To become a regionally-ranked team and a top team in the conference, you have to start with your current product, and that shows the recruits that you’re talking to on a daily basis that you’re working with young men and women that are continuing to grow and get better, and Miami is a place they can continue to grow as a student-athletes.”
A junior, Grossman has high expectations for his team this season, and especially for himself.
“My individual goals this season are to be All-ACC at conference championships, break 24:30 in the 8K at ACCs and rewrite the record books for the University of Miami,” Grossman said.
A native of Dix Hills, N.Y., Grossman admits he was once more into baseball and it wasn’t until high school that he started to seriously pursue running.
“Slowly, as I got better I got a lot more serious and realized I could actually be really good,” Grossman said of when he started to focus more on cross country. “I stopped playing baseball and just ran, and I’ve just gotten better since.”
Grossman has shown major improvement since dedicating himself to cross county, being the only male runner from the school to reach the NCAA South Regional last season, and recently placing second in this year’s FAU invitational.
A senior, Keller joins Grossman as leaders on the 2016 team, and spoke to the depth of the roster this year.
“We’ve been lower in the conference for the last 10 years and this is probably the strongest team we’ve had,” Grossman said. “We definitely want to get out of there and beat as many teams as possible at conference, and just have a closer pack in races and run more together to push each other.”
Griffiths spoke to Grossman’s continual growth as a runner, noting his breaking of 15 minutes in the 5000-meter last season, and the leadership role he sees Grossman in on the team.
“He had experience running at the NCAA regional meet in cross country, and he’s always making sure the team is pushing at workouts and taking their training and lifestyles as a runners seriously,” Griffiths said.
Hesslau is already one of the best runners in UM cross country history. Being that it is her last cross country season, she is looking forward to every single race this year because she doesn’t want it to end. This season, Hesslau is striving to break 17 minutes in the 5K, and be more honest with herself in regards to her training.
“I’d like to maintain a higher mileage this season, and work more with weights, strides, core and rehab,” Hesslau said.
Hesslau placed first in the FAU Invitational earlier this season and has already cemented herself as a top-10 runner in the school’s history, much of which is attributed to her personal drive. Hesslau spoke on the difficulty of cross-country saying it can be tougher than sports with more spectators.
“Three quarters of the race you’re on your own, no one is there watching you or cheering for you,” Hesslau said. “It’s easy when Coach Griffiths says ‘go faster,’ but when he’s not there, it’s on you to go faster.”
Hesslau believes that the discipline aspect comes more with training, just getting your mileage in and making sure to work hard in practice. In her time at Miami, she has earned the respect of her coach.
“Gabby has done exceptional for us over her tenure here,” Griffiths said. “She has elevated Miami to where we’re a respected name within distance.”
Hesslau is the school record holder in the outdoor 10000 meters and the indoor 5000 meters, and Griffths attested to how far she’s come from when she first started at Miami.
“She came in injured, and we got her back healthy,” Griffiths said. “Now we’re very excited to see how far she’s come and what she’s able to do this year.”
Keller is a senior on the Miami men’s cross country team, and was referred to by his coach as a “pillar of consistency.” Griffiths noted that Keller came into a team in a major transition period and has been a significant contributor over the past few years.
“He’s been a top-two, top-three runner for the program and I couldn’t be more elated with his progress this year,” Griffiths said.
Keller is striving to run a new personal record in the 8K this season, after running a personal-best of 15:45 in the 5K earlier in 2016. By the end of the season, he hopes to break 25 minutes in the 8K. He’s confident in the team this year and feels the team was unlucky last year being plagued by injury.
Keller also mentioned how the program is different than when he started, specifically togetherness.
“It’s definitely a closer group of people than it was when I was a freshman,” Keller said. “Now there is more team unity.”
Den Otter sees real potential in her team this year. Hailing from West Lawn, Pa., the standout sophomore is already one of the best runners on the women’s team. With personal goals of breaking 18 minutes in the 5K and 22 minutes in the 6K, she looks to be one of the key contributors in returning the women’s team to ACC relevance.
“I think the team can improve a lot at conference,” Den Otter said. “As a team we can move up a few places from last year. I see a lot of improvement from everybody on the team.”
Den Otter started running seriously in the seventh grade and still remembers the motivations she drew on to keep going.
“I remember my very first cross country practice, I was really struggling, and I knew my dad had run a marathon, so I was like if my dad can run a marathon, I think I can run a 5K,” Den Otter said.
While the physical hours put in are tough, keeping a clear head and staying focused can be the hardest part of the sport. The mental aspect of cross country is often overlooked by those unfamiliar with distance running.
“The mental aspect of accepting the pain and knowing you’re going to go through a lot of pain is the hardest part for me,” Den Otter said. “Trying not to shut down or get disengaged in our race cause it does get long.”
When speaking on Den Otter, Griffiths could not help but mention her versatility in different lengths of races and glaring potential.
“She has a lot of potential to be a conference qualifier to the finals; she’s a workhorse,” Griffiths said.
While the quartet of Grossman, Keller, Hesslau and Den Otter are making an impact on the race course, Griffiths believes they make an equally positive impact outside of races.
“They’re like my kids,” Griffiths said. “They’re great individuals, great people. They do a lot of work in the community and within the athletic department. Hopefully they can showcase that self to the next generation of athletes as they come in as freshmen or transfers, to be able to make them understand the standard that needs to be set within our middle distance and distance program”.
The Hurricanes, collectively, hope to compete in the ACC this year and feel the roster is as deep as ever this season. With Grossman, Keller, Hesslau and Den Otter at the helm, the future of Miami cross country looks as bright as the weather in Coral Gables.
