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RedHawks show progress at Indiana Open

The RedHawks held their own against Big 10 competition at the Indiana Open on September 2.

"We are just at a different level this year," Coach Tom Chorny said after Miami opened the 2017 cross country season.

The women placed fifth in Bloomington, IN with 116 points. The men took home third place -- defeating Ohio State and Wisconsin with 60 points.

Chorny described the course as "very tough," but many RedHawks went on to run personal records in both men and women races.

Seniors Maria Scavuzzo and Alesha Vovk led the women in the five-kilometer race. Scavuzzo was the RedHawks' first finisher, placed 11th overall and had a new cross country five-kilometer personal best of 18 minutes and three seconds.

Vovk came in 20th, running her personal best as well with a time of 18 minutes and 16 seconds.

Sophomore Carly Davis finished soon after in 24th place. Her time was 18 minutes and 20 seconds. Seniors Allison Klonne and Elise Brady rounded out the scoring runners, placing 34th and 37th overall.

Overall, Indiana won with 40 points, topping Minnesota by 11 points. The individual crown went to sophomore Amy Davis of Wisconsin who had a time of 17 minutes and 39 seconds. Davis edged junior Margaret Allen of Indiana by a second.

Miami sophomores Sean and Christopher Torpy ran stride for stride into the finish, both running big personal records. Christopher finished seventh in a time of 25 minutes and 13.1 seconds, while his twin Sean, finished half a second behind to take eighth.

Seniors Jake Brumfield and Ben Metzger followed soon behind, finishing 12th and 15th, respectively. Brumfield would run a new personal record in 25 minutes and 29 seconds.

Sophomore Daniel Reynolds stepped up and became the Red and White's final scorer. Reynolds did so by completing the race in 25 minutes and 48 seconds, more than four and a half minutes faster than what he ran last year at the same course.

"I feel so blessed to be where I am and I was filled with joy when I saw my teammates killing it as well," Reynolds said in a post from Running2Win.com, an online blog where runners share their runs with the general public. "I like the progress I've been making."

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"I don't know what it means for the end of the season, but it is very exciting to see them working hard and coming together as a team," Chorny said.

The Hoosiers dominated their home course, taking the victory with a 29 point margin over second place Minnesota. They were led by sophomore Ben Veatch and Redshirt sophomore Kyle Mau.

Veatch, a five-time Indiana state champion, won in 24 minutes and 54 seconds. Mau finished second overall in a time of 25 minutes and 0.1 seconds.

After a week off last weekend, the men and women cross country teams will race again on Saturday for the Commodore Classic at Vanderbilt University.