Canes XC to Battle FIU at Miami Duals
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami cross country team will race against crosstown rival FIU in the 2016 Miami Duals Thursday morning.
The Miami Duals will be Miami’s first home cross country event since hosting the Miami Greentree Invitational in 2012. It will also be the Hurricanes’ final race before the 2016 ACC Cross Country Championships.
“We look forward to closing out the regular season racing our crosstown rival,” Miami distance coach Damon Griffiths said. “Miami Duals will give us a chance to work on early strategies. With ACCs around the corner, we want to go into it with as much confidence as possible.”
The Hurricanes will have 17 student-athletes competing at the Miami Duals, hosted at Larry and Penny Thompson Park in Miami. Eight Canes will run in the men’s 5K beginning at 8 a.m., while nine Hurricanes are slated to race in the women’s 5K at 8:30 p.m.
Sean Grossman and Jon Keller will look to pace the Hurricane men after strong races a week ago at the USF Invitational. Grossman placed fourth overall in the men’s 8K with a personal-best time of 25:48.70, while Keller finished seventh with a time of 26:17.53.
Adam George, Michael Miano and Tom Gassner are all coming off personal-best times, while Luke Dublirer, Sean Hagert and Nick Kaleel will also compete for a Miami men’s team that has finished in the top five in each of its four races this season.
On the women’s side, Gabrielle Hesslau will lead the pack of talented Canes on Thursday morning. The senior has been Miami’s top female runner all season and enters this weekend fresh off a second place finish at the USF Invitational.
Anne Den Otter, Mulloy Manning, Carla Rodriguez and Sarah Raboff are other Canes to watch on the women’s side, while Megan Brown, Samantha Chenkin, Sophia Corde and Laura Puentes round out the nine Miami women scheduled to race on Thursday.
Following the Miami Duals, the Canes will turn their focus to the postseason. Miami’s next race will be at the 2016 ACC Cross Country Championships in Cary, N.C., on Oct. 28. NCAA Regional Championships are slated for Nov. 11 in Tallahassee, Fla., with the NCAA Championships taking place on Nov. 19 in South Bend, Ind.
Miami Lineups
Men: Luke Dublirer, Tom Gassner, Adam George, Sean Grossman, Sean Hagert, Nick Kaleel, Jon Keller, Michael Miano
Women: Megan Brown, Samantha Chenkin, Sophia Corde, Anne Den Otter, Gabrielle Hesslau, Mulloy Manning, Laura Puentes, Sarah Raboff, Carla Rodriguez
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