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The Syracuse cross country and track teams both raced on the same day Friday for the first time in recent history. Orange cross country runners traveled down to Tallahassee, Florida on Friday morning to participate in the men’s 8,000-meter and the women’s 6,000-meter at the FSU Winter Classic.

In SU’s first cross country action since the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Oct. 30, the Orange placed eight out of 20 schools in the men’s 8,000-meter and 13th out of 18 schools in the women’s 6,000-meter.

Senior Amanda Vestri (20:25.7) placed 7th in the women’s 6,000-meter, first among all ACC runners. Freshman Savannah Roark (21:37.4) finished next best among SU’s women’s runners, securing 59th place. Sophomore Justus Holden-Betts (21:48.7) and junior Abigail Spiers (21:52.6) also finished in the top 75.

In the men’s 8,000-meter, senior Joe Dragon (24:10.7) led SU runners, finishing 24th. Graduate student JP Trojan (24:17.7), who won two races this fall, placed 37th. Junior Silas Derfel (24:18.2) and redshirt freshman Alex Comerford (24:23.8) also finished in the top 50.

Twenty-nine teams participated in the race, mostly from the ACC and the east coast. The No. 30 Syracuse men’s team was one of six ranked squads, although three unranked teams finished ahead of the Orange on Friday.

SU cross country will travel to Florida State again in a month’s time for the FSU XC Last Chance meet, a tuneup for the NCAA Championships on March 15.

Published on February 5, 2021 at 3:05 pm

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu