Three Canes Post Top-10 Program 5K Times
EARLYSVILLE, Va. – Freshman Elle Mezzio, redshirt freshman Daphnee Lavassas and freshman Natalie Varela led the University of Miami cross country team with top-10 program 5K times on Friday morning at the XC23 Invitational.
“The team put in some good work,” said head coach Cody Halsey. “We were excited about the opportunity to run on a new, challenging and hilly course but it was definitely tough.
“The women ran hard. Their job was to take chances and test their fitness. I think they did that. I’m really proud of them. I was excited to see Elle get under 18 minutes on such a challenging course, she’s tough.”
The Hurricanes finished fifth in the women’s 5K race with 119 points.
For the second outing in a row the trio posted top-10 school times. Mezzio, Lavassas, and Varela each posted top-10 program 6K times at the Paul Short Run back on Oct. 1.
Mezzio paced all Hurricane runners with a time of 17:58.2 for the sixth fastest time in program history to finish 13th. Lavassas finished 14th just 2.3 seconds behind Mezzio with the seventh fastest time in the school record book of 18:00.5.
Varela capped of the regular season with a 24th-place finish. She posted the eighth quickest 5K time in school history at 18:19.6.
Emma Langlois and Bianca Banato each tallied top-40 finishes. Langlois placed 33rd with a time of 18:33.9, while Banato finished in 18:52.2 to place 38th.
Rounding out the women for Miami was Morgan Johnson and Ella Consla. Johnson clocked in at 19:22.5, finishing 45th. Consla finished 49th with a time of 19:36.7.
“The men are coming around,” added Halsey. “I was excited to add Andrew [Madden] back into the mix who hasn’t raced an 8k in over a year. He’ll be in a much different place in two weeks, which I’m really looking forward to. I was also really proud of Cormac [O’Brien] who is finally starting to believe and trust his fitness. He raced nearly a minute faster than he did two weeks ago on a much faster course.
“I’m looking forward to ACC Championships with this group.”
The Hurricanes were led on the men’s side by Madden who finished 61st after clocking in at 26:17.3. O’Brien ran a 26:55.4 time, finishing the day in 72nd.
Miami returns to action Oct. 29 to begin postseason action in South Bend, Ind., at the ACC Championships.
