For the fifth straight year, the University of Miami’s men’s cross country team won the season opening event at the Nova Southeastern Sharks Invitational.
“We were hoping to have a little better performance overall,” Head Coach Mike Ward said. “But we won, and that is what is important.”
Andrew Chuplis lead Miami to victory with a second overall finish on the 5K course with a time of 16:43.28.
Six other Hurricane runners placed in the top 10. Sophomore Eric Miller placed fourth (16:51.34), senior Jon Scheiner finished fifth (16:53.18), senior Seth Kampf placed sixth (16:57.50), sophomore Ryan Woodlee came in ninth (17:16.65) and freshman Julio Bonilla finished 10th (17:17.12).
Other teams in the event included Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Tech, Saint Leo, Florida Gulf Coast, Palm Beach Atlantic and Johnson & Wales.
Coach Ward felt that his team needed to learn to run in packs so that all the members of the team would practice working together.
“[The] guys should have been more of a team and helped each other out,” Coach Ward said. “Pressure of being in a pack makes people run better.”
Men’s cross-country will be in action Sept. 16 in Gainesville, Fla. at the Florida Invitational.
Women’s Cross Country
University of Miami junior DeeDee Phlatts finished seventh with a time of 20:54.00 to help the women’s cross country team to a third-place finish at the Nova Southeastern Sharks Invitational.
Phlatts helped Miami record 102 points to finish third behind Florida Atlantic University by 35 points and Florida International by 36 points.
Other notable finishes for the ‘Canes included senior Allison McElhaney who finished 16th, freshman Elizabeth Garro who came in 24th, and senior Lindsay Rohrs who was 27th.
Other teams involved in this event included Florida Tech, Saint Leo, Florida Gulf Coast, Palm Beach Atlantic, and Johnson & Wales.
Coach Ward was pleased with his team’s performance compared to the competition they faced.
“We did what we were capable of doing,” Coach Ward said.
Women’s cross-country will be back in action Sept. 16 in Gainesville, Fla. at the Florida Invitational.
Portions of this article were complied from the Hurricane Sports Information office releases.
Denis Brown may be contacted at dbrown@umsis.miami.edu