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.”
Cain and Kushner are launching a South Florida real estate joint venture, planning a luxury apartment tower in Edgewater for their first project, The Real Deal has learned.
London-based Cain, led by Jonathan Goldstein, and New York-based Kushner, led by Laurent Morali and Nicole Kushner Meyer, plan a 40-story, 364-unit project on Cain’s 1.5-acre site at 614 and 720 Northeast 27th Street in Miami, according to a news release. The property is near the Missoni Baia condo tower that Cain co-developed with Vlad Doronin’s OKO Group.
BDT & MSD Partners provided a $42 million loan for the project, which is in the pre-development phase. Construction is expected to start late next year, the release says.
The Cain-Kushner JV is targeting residential and mixed-use investments and developments in the tri-county region.
“We are looking at all opportunities that we think are sensible,” Goldstein said.
Their South Florida JV comes as the region is experiencing another influx of out-of-staters after the pandemic-era boom, only this time the in-migration is primarily of wealthy individuals and their companies amid the blue-to-red-state migration.
Yet, Cain and Kushner’s plans for Edgewater apartments come as the multifamily market has softened due to hefty deliveries in recent years. A record 18,600 units were completed in 2024, outpacing leasing that year by about 20 percent, CoStar Group data shows. Although construction starts have slowed, last year’s 12,718 unit completions still surpassed total leasing for the year by about 1,000 apartments.
It has led to slower lease-ups, more concessions and a drop in the average asking rents across South Florida.
Developers starting projects now have said demand will catch up by the time they finish their buildings, with many adding that South Florida remains a strong apartment market. Many are betting on luxury rentals, which CoStar’s data showed made up the bulk of leasing in recent years.
“We are big believers in South Florida and big believers in Miami,” Goldstein said.
Cain, backed by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, has been investing in South Florida for nearly a decade, with the JV in some ways marking its second chapter in the region.
Cain’s most recent project is the Delano Miami Beach renovation. The hotel, which closed in 2020, is expected to reopen in time for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix early next month.
Aside from the Missoni Baia condo tower, Cain also partnered with OKO on the Una Residences condo tower in Brickell and the 57-story 830 Brickell office tower. The office building was completed in 2024 fully pre-leased, catching a demand surge during the pandemic-era in-migration of out-of-state companies to Miami. Cain also is an investor in Doronin’s hospitality firm Aman Group.
Kushner has a presence in Miami’s Edgewater, completing the 37-story, 420-unit apartment tower at 2000 Biscayne Boulevard in 2024, with plans for more residential development next-door at 1900 Biscayne Boulevard. It also purchased the 276-unit Hamilton apartment building at 555 Northeast 34th Street from Aimco.
Elsewhere, Kushner plans a 932-unit multifamily development at 300 West Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. It borrowed a $115 million construction loan last year for a luxury 68-unit apartment project in Surfside. And it scored approval in October for a 470-unit rental building and synagogue development near Hollywood’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
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The right-hander consistently set the tone early, either landing a first-pitch strike or inducing a foul
The Miami Heat are heading into another crucial offseason, and they MUST make changes. This team has been mediocre for the past few seasons and has been stuck in the Play-in Tournament. The Heat can’t currently compete with the way the roster is constructed. They need to trade for a star who can lead this team, and if a star becomes available, Miami will be involved. The real question is which direction actually makes the most sense.
The Heat could go after three potential targets this summer: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, and Donovan Mitchell. Who should Miami target? Let’s stack rank them based on fit, risk, and potential.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo: The Only Move That Changes Everything
The Miami Heat need to go all-in for Giannis. This is a trade that would completely reshape the franchise. Giannnis could potentially turn the Heat into a contender overnight. Even with his recent injury cutting his season short, nothing about his overall impact has changed. He still bends defenses in a way very few players can. Teams build entire game plans around simply trying to slow him down, and most of the time, it doesn’t work.
The Miami Heat have desperately needed a true superstar who can take over games late in crunch time. The Heat have been relying on undrafted players and role players to create and execute their offense. Giannis flips that instantly by creating advantages on his own, possession after possession.
I think the most interesting part will be pairing Giannis with Bam Adebayo. They would automatically become the best defensive frontcourt duo in the NBA. Giannis and Bam could both guard 1-5, and their switchability and rim protection would be elite. Offensively, Bam’s versatility allows Giannis to stay aggressive without needing to adjust his game too much.
The risk is obvious. Injuries have started to creep into the conversation, and committing everything to one player always carries weight. Still, Miami has never been a franchise that plays it safe. If Giannis is available, the conversation starts and ends there.
2. Donovan Mitchell: The Cleanest Basketball Fit
If Giannis is the bold swing, Mitchell is the move that makes the most basketball sense from top to bottom. At this stage of his career, Donovan Mitchell knows exactly who he is as a player. He can control tempo, create offense in isolation, and take over stretches of games when things stall out and that is something Miami has struggled with consistently.
This is less about transforming the roster and more about fixing a specific problem. The Heat have lacked a reliable perimeter engine. Mitchell fills that gap immediately. What makes him especially appealing is how easily he fits into different lineups. He doesn’t need the ball every possession to be effective, but he can handle that role when needed. That flexibility matters on a team that values structure as much as Miami does.
There’s also a timeline advantage here. Mitchell is younger than the other options and doesn’t come with the same long-term durability concerns. He gives Miami a clearer runway to build around, rather than a shorter window that demands immediate results. He may not bring the same overwhelming presence as Giannis, but he raises the overall level of the team in a way that feels sustainable.
3. Kawhi Leonard: Elite Talent With Too Many Variables
When Kawhi Leonard is available and healthy, he’s still one of the most controlled and efficient players in the league. His season with the Los Angeles Clippers was a reminder of that. Playing 65 games was a big step, and when he was on the floor, he looked like himself, methodical, physical, and impossible to speed up. From a pure basketball standpoint, he fits Miami’s identity. He defends, doesn’t force offense, and thrives in structured environments.
The hesitation comes from everything outside of that. Kawhi’s availability has been unpredictable for years, and even in seasons where he plays a high number of games, there’s always uncertainty about how things will hold up deep into a playoff run. Age adds another layer. Miami wouldn’t just be trading for a player; they’d be betting on a timeline that may already be shrinking. There’s no denying the upside. A healthy Kawhi still moves the needle in a big way. It’s just harder to justify that gamble compared to the other two options.
Final Take
Each path offers something different. Giannis is the all-in swing that could put Miami back in the championship conversation overnight. Mitchell is the calculated move that stabilizes the offense and fits long-term. Kawhi is the wildcard, still elite, but with more uncertainty than the Heat can comfortably ignore.
If Miami is serious about breaking out of the middle, they need to pick a direction and commit fully. Giannis is the dream, Mitchell is the smartest bet, and Kawhi is the toughest sell.
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