SU men’s cross country places 4th at NCAA Championships, best finish since 2016
Syracuse men's cross country's fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships earned the squad its best placement since 2016 and its 11th top-four finish ever. Ike Wood | Asst. Photo Editor
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On Saturday, Syracuse’s men’s squad ran in the NCAA Championships at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri, looking to finally get over the hump to win the national title.
Though the Orange didn’t quite do that, they still had a historic day to wrap up their season. SU finished fourth, marking its best placement since 2016.
Additionally, while the women’s team failed to qualify for the tournament, sophomore Selma Anderson ran individually. She qualified by finishing top-four in last week’s regionals. She finished her 6k with a time of 19:56.3, placing 97th, an improvement from ranking 154th in last year’s championships. It was her second-best 6k time all year, only one second shy of her personal best.
No. 20 Alabama’s Doris Lemngole won the women’s individual competition for the second straight year, while No. 1 NC State won the team championship.
The men’s team entered the competition ranked No. 4, one of the favorites to reach the podium. They did just that with their fourth-place finish. Redshirt senior Sam Lawler finished 31st with a time of 29:00.6, and redshirt senior Peter Walsdorf claimed 37th in 29:03.9. Senior Assaf Harari had Syracuse’s third-best time, finishing in 29:12.2, 48th overall.
Redshirt sophomore Benne Anderson and junior Matthew Neill had the two other scoring times for the Orange, placing 63rd and 73rd, respectively.
No. 1 Oklahoma State finished first, winning the championship. The Orange also finished behind No. 3 New Mexico and No. 2 Iowa State on the podium, while the Lobos’ Habtom Samuel won the individual title.
