Miami, FL
Former Century distance runner has hit it big at Miami University in Ohio, chasing her Olympic dream
OXFORD, Ohio — The most apt description of Ava Nuttall as a Rochester Century distance runner was that she was “good, not great.”
Now fast forward four years to this, her senior season at Division I Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Nuttall is still running. But no longer can she be qualified as “good.”
Olympic hopefuls and Division I All-Americans — she is both — can only be given that other adjective.
Yes, Ava Nuttall is truly “great,” and her greatness keeps finding new levels.
“Nothing is impossible,” Nuttall said. “I would love to qualify for the Olympics one day. I will try my very best to make that happen.”
On Jan. 28, Nuttall took her first step in attempting to get there, competing in the Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Fla. She didn’t come close to qualifying, finishing 75th. But that Nuttall made the Trials at all was remarkable. Prior, she’d run just two 26.2-mile races, the first one Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth in June of 2021. The second came this past September, the California International Marathon in Sacramento, Calif. Nuttall’s showing at the latter was inspired, finishing third among all women racers, in 2 hours, 35 minutes. That was 2 minutes faster than the Olympic Trials qualifying time.
So what’s happened? How has Nuttall gone from a “good” runner to this “great” version?
Nuttall cites the individualized coaching she’s received at Miami University as a partial explanation.
“They are very understanding and very knowledgeable,” Nuttall said. “They patiently explain things to me, telling me how to run and what to run. And I’ve learned that running well has a lot to do with taking care of your body — getting enough to eat and sleeping enough.”
It also hasn’t hurt that Nuttall has completely fallen in love with distance running, starring now in both cross country and track and field.
The daily training, the meets — she’s gobbled it all up.
“Running is my happy place,” said Nuttall, who showed up at Miami as a non-scholarship walk-on in track and cross country. “I’m very happy when I’m running. It is something that I truly love and am so excited about. Running just feels easy to me, that it’s (what) I’m meant to (do).”
The marathons also fit that “easy to me” description for Nuttall. She had never run farther than 15 miles before showing up at Grandma’s Marathon two years ago. She had no idea how she’d do and was mostly there just to have fun and try something new.
It went well.
“I definitely wanted to do more (marathons) after that,” Nuttall said. “One minute I’d feel tired and then the next minute I’d feel amazing. The biggest thing is to just stay mentally tough.”
This past fall in Sacramento, things went ever better as Nuttall covered 26.2 miles for the second time in her life.
“My tentative goal had been to qualify for the Trials,” Nuttall said. “I was definitely looking at my watch (as I ran) and was surprised at the pace I was keeping. I just started thinking, ‘This is not over my head.’”
A year ago was Nuttall’s best stretch of running in her life. She was named All-Mid American Conference in cross country, then followed that up in the spring by earning her first berth in the NCAA Division I track and field outdoor meet in Austin, Texas. Nuttall qualified in the 10,000 meters and finished 11th overall (33:51.78), making her an All-American. Weeks before, she’d won the 10,000 race at the MAC Outdoor Championships, which was preceded by her setting the conference record in the 10,000 (33:10.75).
Another secret to Nuttall’s success has been the competitiveness of Miami’s practices. In Nuttall, Carmen Riano and Annie Christie — all three of them close friends and stars — Miami had the top three 5,000 finishers last year in the MAC Outdoor Championships. Riano, Christie and Nuttall are all back for more this season.
“Those 5K girls really push her,” Miami assistant track and field coach Kristin Cupido said. “They are great training partners for Ava. It helps with their motivation, with them all working as hard as they can.”
Cupido has been floored by Nuttall’s college success. She was there when Nuttall showed up as a freshman at Miami, a walk-on without much of a resume.
But gradually, she’s watched her take off. Cupido says Nuttall has earned everything she’s achieved.
“She has made huge strides,” Cupido said. “It’s been amazing. She’s gone from a walk-on to 11th in the nation.”
And with still so much to pursue. Cupido isn’t putting anything past this former unknown. Not anymore.
“She is a great girl with a great personality,” Cupido said. “And she busts her butt to be the best she can be. I am so excited to see what she can achieve.”
An investigation is underway at a northwest Miami-Dade apartment complex after the sheriff’s office said a man was shot by his girlfriend after a “heated dispute” early Wednesday morning.
Few details have been released, but the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the incident took place at an apartment complex located off Northwest 7th Avenue.
The sheriff’s office said that a man became involved in a “heated dispute” with his girlfriend, and she shot him in the right arm.
He was rushed to a hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue in critical condition.
The woman is in custody.
The identities of those who were involved have not yet been released.
No other information was available.
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Mar. 3, 7:30 p.m. EST, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun, YES Network (Brooklyn)
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida), WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM (Brooklyn)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (32-29) and Brooklyn Nets (15-45) meet for the second of three regular season matchups. Earlier this season, Miami recorded a, 106-95, win in Brooklyn on December 18 and has now won four of the last five overall against the Nets.
It also marks the first of consecutive games against Brooklyn with the teams facing each other again on Thursday. The Heat are 83-61 all-time versus the Nets during the regular season, including 44-26 in home games and 39-35 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Pelle Larsson
F Andrew Wiggins
NETS
G Nolan Traore
G Terance Mann
C Nic Claxton
F Michael Porter Jr.
F Noah Clowney
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Davion Mitchell: Questionable – Shoulder
Norman Powell: Out – Groin
Nikola Jovic: Out – Back
Trevor Keels: Available – G League
Jahmir Young: Available – G League
Vlad Goldin: Available – G League
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
NETS
Nic Claxton: Probable – Thumb
Egor Demin: Out – Foot
QUOTABLE
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “Regardless of the scheme is, I always go back to that, it’s just about committing to doing hard things. We were really moving in the zone, taking away airspace and scrambling to challenge shots at the rim. In a lot of these losses in the last month we’ve just been giving up shots at the rim and threes.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
Which oil and gas facilities in the Gulf have been attacked?
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of former supreme leader, tipped to become Iran’s next head of state
Las Vegas first responders conduct seven-hour rescue of injured climber stranded 600 feet up rock face
Breaking: Arkansas Announces Significant Partnership With Tyson Foods, Including New Uniform Patch Logos
Ted Cruz endorses Texas state Rep Steve Toth in GOP primary challenge to Dan Crenshaw
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Which oil and gas facilities in the Gulf have been attacked?
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of former supreme leader, tipped to become Iran’s next head of state
Video: Senators Question Kristi Noem on ICE Immigration Tactics
Combustible Republican Senate primary in Texas heading into overtime
Hungarian veto proves EU needs less unanimity, says new Dutch PM
-
World6 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts7 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO7 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon5 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Florida3 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Maryland3 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Culture1 week agoTry This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies