Cross Country Posts Seven Season-Bests at FSU Invite
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The third time seemed to be the charm for the Miami cross country program as seven Canes improved their times at the largest FSU Invitational to date.
The Miami men posted a top-10 finish in a field composed of 27 teams, finishing seventh with Andrew Madden logging the best time for the Canes at 25:43.8 in the men’s 8K. Madden shed nearly a minute off his previous time he recorded three weeks ago in Blacksburg, Va. This is the second time this season Madden has registered the men’s top time.
Dylan Sykes was close behind with his time of 26:14.3, a two-second progression from his last outing. Senior Matthew Wiefels and freshman Dillon Fields finished within second of each other, recording times of 26:21.8 and 26:22.3, respectively. The pair also cut a minute off their previous times.
Freshman Justin Rittenhouse also boasted a season-best time, shedding a minute off his former time, finishing at 27:45.1. Samuel Fleischman made his sophomore debut under assistant cross country coach Cody Halsey and notched a time of 29:03.7 to close out the men’s team’s performers. The men finished with 199 points.
“The job today was to leave it all on the course and I can confidently say that each athletes executed that plan perfectly,” Halsey said. “I’m incredibly proud of the everyone’s effort this morning . They ran hard, tested their fitness and took chances that paid off. I’m really proud of them.”
On the women’s side, junior Emma Langlois boasted the top time for Miami, shedding 61 seconds off her season-opening time, with her time of 18:47.1 in the 5K. Lauren Schiffenaus competed in her first 5K of the season, posting a time of 19:58.9, two minutes faster than her best time last season.
Olivia Raymond also competed for the first time this season, finishing with the third-best time for the women, but it was Alison Johnson who truly shined, trimming over five minutes from her season-opening time at FAU. Johnson finished with a time of 20:59.4 and was the final Cane to finish.
With seven season-best times, Halsey is proud of the strides her young team is making. In just two months, the Canes are on the come up.
