Jawid and Kuck Lead Canes at Mountain Dew Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Nathan Kuck and Maryam Jawid led the University of Miami cross country program with top 10 finishes at the 2017 Mountain Dew Invitational Saturday.
The Hurricanes, who had not raced since the FAU Invitational on Sept. 1, had 16 student-athletes run on the course at the Mark Bostick Golf Course on the University of Florida. The Hurricane men combined for a score of 222 points to finish sixth, while Miami’s women finished 11th with 273 points.
“We had some good individual performances, but I feel that we didn’t accomplish what we needed to as a team,” Miami distance coach Damon Griffiths said.
Kuck led the Hurricanes in the men’s 8K, finishing fourth overall with a time of 25:04.0 that ranks fifth all-time in UM history.
Fellow senior Sean Grossman was the next Cane to cross the finish line, placing 16th with a time of 25:52.3. Jacob Triarsi, Adam George and Dylan Sykes rounded out the five men scoring for the Canes, who entered the weekend ranked 14th in USTFCCCA South Region rankings.
“Nathan rank an exceptional race,” Griffiths said. “He was patient and stalked the leaders, moving up to fourth in the final stages. Sean ran a solid race, but was too impatient in the early miles.”
On the women’s side, Jawid turned in her second consecutive strong performance. The freshman, who finished second at the FAU Invitational, was seventh in the women’s 5K with a personal-best time of 18:00.4 that ranks sixth in UM history.
Anne den Otter also shined for the Hurricanes, placing 14th with a personal-best time of 18:26.3 that ranks seventh all-time at Miami. Jawid and den Otter gave the Hurricane women two top 20 finishers in Gainesville, while Abby Kettle, Emma Langlois and Simone Vreeland completed the quintet of scoring Miami women.
“Maryam has impressed me with her poise and consistent running as a freshman,” Griffiths said. “And Anne continues to improve, running a new personal-best.”
Meet results can be found here.
Following this week’s races in Gainesville, the Hurricanes will travel to Kentucky for the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 30. The race will give Miami the opportunity to race on the course that will host the ACC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 27.
“Our top two runners in each gender are running well,” Griffiths said. “Now we have to get the second packs to be tougher and race a little better for the team to be successful. Next week at Louisville will be another chance to get better.”
For more information on the 2017 cross country schedule, click here.
Miami Lineups
Men: Nathan Kuck, Sean Grossman, Jacob Triarsi, Adam George, Dylan Sykes, Matthew Wiefels, Sean Hagert
Women: Maryam Jawid, Anne den Otter, Abby Kettle, Emma Langlois, Simone Vreeland, Carla Rodriguez, Olivia Raymond, Daria Pietropaolo
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