Syracuse cross country teams are in it for the gold
SYRACUSE, N.Y. 鈥� 厂测谤补肠耻蝉别鈥檚 men and women cross country teams headed to nationals, together this year after a successful fall season. Both teams earned an automatic qualification spot into the championships from outstanding performances at the NCAA Northeast regional.听
This was the men’s seventh NCAA Northeast regional championship out of eight being held. They finished just behind second place holder, Harvard, with 51 points. Three of the Orange finished in the final 10 places with Aidan Tooker taking third overall.听
Following the same pattern as the men, the women finished right behind second place, Harvard, with 81 points. Amanda Vestri won the women’s race for the second time out of the three times the event was held.听
The star senior runner was a team USA competitor before her time at Syracuse. Now wearing Orange, Vestri is one of the strongest runners on the course, taking many accolades during her years with the program. She helped lead the Orange to a fifth place finish at regionals her junior season.听
During her senior year, she was a top finisher for Syracuse in the ACC Cross Country Championships, but was unable to compete in the NCAA championship this year.听
This is not the first time both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country teams have swept the awards together. This past season both teams took ACC weekly honors, with Nathan Lawler and Maddie Heintz both earning it for their top finishes. Heintz also took freshman honors of the week. Lawler finished in the top few runners at the John Reif Memorial with a 5k time of 15:00. Heintz took second overall in her 5k race with a time of 18:00.听
The NCAA Cross Country Championships took place in Tallahassee, Florida, right before Thanksgiving. The men鈥檚 team collected 19th place, which has been their best finish since 2017. The women ran without their two best runners in Vestri and Holly Bent. Without the duo, the women would finish 30th overall.
The two teams will begin their indoor season, shifting their attention to the track after their standout cross country campaigns.
