Canes XC Beats FIU at Miami Duals
MIAMI – The University of Miami cross country team defeated crosstown rival FIU in the 2016 Miami Duals Thursday morning.
Miami’s men’s team had a perfect score of 15, taking the top five places in the men’s 5K, while the women earned the top four spots in the women’s 5K en route to a victory. Overall, the Hurricanes had 17 student-athletes compete at the Miami Duals, hosted at Larry and Penny Thompson Park in Miami.
“It was great to have a home meet back in Miami again,” Miami distance coach Damon Griffiths said. “We had several family members and friends and fans supporting us. It’s good to have a good event in front of a home crowd and we look forward to making this an annual meet.
The Hurricane men hit the 5K course first, beginning at 8 a.m., and Sean Grossman crossed the finish line 16:10.5 later to win the individual title.
“I thought it went pretty well,” Grossman said. “It was a good effort from the whole team. We tried to just pack it up early on and push it later. We all finished strong and looking good going to ACCs next week.”
Jon Keller (16:18.2), Nick Kaleel (16:25.5), Michael Miano (16:37.7) and Tom Gassner (16:51.2) followed to give Miami a perfect score of 15, as the Hurricanes took the top five places in the race.
“The men ran very well today,” Griffiths said. “For them to sweep the top five places and have a perfect score, it’s an indicator of how much they’ve grown since the start of the season. Time wasn’t the ultimate goal today, it was about keeping the spread together as close as possible and they did that. If we could have a similar effort a week from now, I’m confident we could do some things that haven’t been done with this program in a while.”
Gabrielle Hesslau continued to be the top female runner for the Hurricanes, winning the women’s 5K with a time of 18:29.0. The senior was followed by three of her teammates, as Anne Den Otter finished second (18:59.3), Mulloy Manning placed third (19:53.3) and Carla Rodriguez was fourth (20:17.8).
“I am happy for team wins on both sides,” Hesslau said. “Today was a more controlled effort, where next week we will need to go out harder. It is definitely a different style of competition at ACCs.”
Megan Brown, Sophia Corde, Laura Puentes and Samantha Chenkin also ran for a Miami women’s team that placed first with a score of 18.
“I feel the women ran a great, controlled race today,” Griffiths said. “Sweeping the top four places shows that they’re in the right position in our last regular season meet. I hope this last outing will give both teams the confidence that they’re ready to race at a high level if they keep their mind focused for the entirety of the race.”
The Miami Duals were Miami’s first home cross country event since hosting the Miami Greentree Invitational in 2012. It was also the Hurricanes’ final race before the 2016 ACC Cross Country Championships.
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, Sean Grossman, 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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