Canes Ready for ACC Cross Country Championships
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes are headed to Louisville, Ky., to compete at the 2017 ACC Cross Country Championships.
The Canes have 15 student-athletes entered in the conference meet, with seven entries in the men’s 8K and eight women set to run in the 6K. Miami has previous experience on the course at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park, having run at the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 30, and they will use that knowledge to their advantage on Friday.
“We are confident heading into this competition,” Miami distance coach Damon Griffiths said. “Each week has prepared us for this moment. If we can follow our race strategies, I expect that we will have a good meet.”
Seniors Nathan Kuck and Sean Grossman headline the Miami men’s team and the pair will look to lead the Hurricanes again when the men’s 8K begins at 10 a.m.
A graduate transfer from Bowling Green, Kuck made a name for himself during his first season at The U. He has earned victories at the FAU Invitational and the USF Invitational, while running a personal-best time of 24:49.97 at the Greater Louisville Classic that ranks fourth in school history in the men’s 8K.
Grossman set the school record in the men’s 8K a year ago at the ACC Championships and he will look to improve on that time in his final ACC Championship meet. The Dix Hills, N.Y., native has a pair of top-three finishes this season, placing second at the FAU Invitational and third at the USF Invitational.
On the women’s side, freshman Maryam Jawid and junior Anne den Otter are two Hurricanes to watch.
Jawid has been leading the women since her second-place finish at the FAU Invitational earlier in the season. She’s currently sixth on the all-time list for the women’s 5K with a time of 18:00.40 run at the Mountain Dew Invitational.
den Otter returns to the ACC Championships for the third straight season and she will use her experience to help Jawid and her teammates at the conference meet. The junior has three top 15 finishes this year, including a fourth-place performance at the FAU Invitational. Den Otter ranks seventh on Miami’s all-time 5K list with a time of 18:26.30 that was run at this year’s Mountain Dew Invitational.
Both championships will be shown live on ACC Network Extra. The ACC Men’s Championship 8K final is set to begin at 10 a.m., while the ACC Women’s Championship 6K final will begin at 11 a.m. Live results may be viewed during and after the Championships by clicking here.
Following this week’s races in Louisville, the Hurricanes will train for the NCAA South Regional on Nov. 10 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
For more information on the 2017 cross country schedule, click here.
Miami Lineups
Men: Sean Grossman, Adam George, Sean Hagert, Nathan Kuck, Dylan Sykes, Jacob Triarsi, Matthew Wiefels.
Women: Anne den Otter, Maryam Jawid, Abby Kettle, Emma Langlois, Daria Pietropaolo, Olivia Raymond, Carla Rodriguez, Simone Vreeland.
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