What to know about SU’s 3 runners competing in NCAA Outdoor Championships
Three Syracuse track and field runners will compete in events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon. Courtesy of SU Athletics
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In over a century of existence, Syracuse track and field has never had an NCAA individual outdoor champion. Many came close but couldn’t finish the job, such as Justyn Knight coming within a second in 2018.
But that can change starting Wednesday. After 10 meets over three months, Benne Anderson, Jamir Brown and Elijah Mallard have a chance to make school history in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, which last until Saturday.
Anderson will compete in the 1,500-meter semifinal, Brown will compete in the 110-meter hurdles semifinal and Mallard rounds out the group in the 400-meter hurdles semifinals.
Here’s everything to know about the Orange’s three runners before their semifinal races Wednesday:
Benne Anderson
Of Syracuse’s three qualifiers, Anderson is the only runner making his second trip to Eugene. Two years ago, the then-freshman’s season ended with an early exit in the 1,500-meter semifinals, finishing 22nd of 24 competitors.
A strong 2026 outdoor season led Anderson back to national championships. Rattling off two straight wins — and, more importantly, two straight personal records — earned him the nation’s 16th-best 1,500-meter time (3:36.45) and an East Regionals spot. Back-to-back top-three finishes in his first round and quarterfinals heat gave Anderson an autobid to the semifinal race.
The redshirt sophomore now looks to improve his previous result. Advancing past the semifinals is challenging, as five of 12 runners in Anderson’s heat have faster season bests, and seven had faster quarterfinal times. Still, he’s within 0.3 seconds of the next quickest season best, so a top-five time for an autobid to the finals is within reach.
Jamir Brown
In 2025, Brown won the Division III 110-meter hurdles national title as a freshman at Rowan. Now, he’s on the precipice of accomplishing the same feat in his first D-I season.
Brown’s been in a league of his own this year. He’s SU’s only runner to win the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Track Athlete of the Week, doing so three times. He’s also Syracuse’s only runner to hold the country’s fastest time in an event (110-meter hurdles), win an ACC Championship in an event (110-meter hurdles) and make both national championship meets. To top it off, he holds the Orange’s 110-meter hurdles record at 13.25 seconds.
The NCAA Quarterfinals proved Brown can beat the best when he beat Samford’s Bradley Franklin, the fourth-fastest 110-meter hurdler in D-I.
Brown needs a similar performance in the semifinals and finals for a chance at the title. In the semifinals, he’ll face Texas’ Kendrick Smallwood, who clocked a 13.04-second time in the West Regional Quarterfinals. If Brown advances to the finals — which he could, being second-fastest in his heat and tied for fifth-fastest in the field — he could compete against Auburn’s Ja’Kobe Tharp, the only runner to defeat Brown in the East Regionals.
Elijah Mallard
After over three years of falling short, Mallard finally broke through at the East Regionals to qualify for his first NCAA national championships meet this year.
It’s been a rollercoaster season for Mallard. The senior racked up four wins and three school records. One record was in the 400-meter hurdles, when Mallard became Syracuse’s first runner to finish under 50 seconds.
But Mallard’s season hasn’t been flawless. A disqualification for stepping out of his lane in the Indoor ACC Championships effectively crushed his chances at making the Indoor National Championships. Mallard didn’t finish his 400-meter hurdles race at the USF Alumni Invitational nor advance past the 400-meter hurdles preliminaries in the ACC Outdoor Championships.
Despite these setbacks, Mallard pulled through when it mattered most, setting a personal record of 49.11 seconds in 400-meter hurdles quarterfinals to punch his ticket to Eugene.
Mallard’s journey is far from done. He has the fourth-fastest time in his heat and the 11th-fastest among all participants, though he’s within 0.3 seconds of the fastest runner in his heat. He’ll look to write a storybook ending to a remarkable season Wednesday by making the finals.
