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One year ago, sprinter Jaheem Hayles was the only member of SU’s track team to earn All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors, picking up second team indoor honors and first team outdoor honors. It was also his first season as a Division-I athlete.

But this season, SU has gained two more All-ACC runners, as third-year hurdlers Anthony Vasquez and David Peters both secured second team All-ACC honors in the 60m men’s hurdles. And Hayles, who once competed at Iowa Central Community College, earned first team All-ACC honors once again.

The trio of hurdlers — Vasquez, Peters and Hayles — have become some of Syracuse’s best finishers, consistently placing near the top. They’ve improved their times each season as they prepare for the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in May.

Vasquez credited his improved times to his heightened focus in the weight room.

“I feel like I took track more seriously,” Vasquez said. “I put on 10 pounds since last year. I was 150 pounds and now 160, so all of that converts into power on the track and everything.”

In addition to changing his physique, Vasquez made an effort to change his form. Vasquez said that hurdling with his shoulders before reaching the hurdle has made him slower, so associate head coach Dave Hegland told him to hurdle with his hips, which cuts down a lot of time.

Peters also said that the coaching staff at SU has been instrumental to his development. He broke his personal best in the 60m hurdles by just over a tenth of a second at the ACC Indoor Championships. He said that he’s developed his trust more this season, especially in his training and his coaches to stay as consistent as possible.

Similarly, Peters echoed Vasquez’s methods for improved times, and said his mindset is paramount to producing the performances he expects of himself.

“It’s a mental mind space that you have to lock into,” Peters said. “Everything that I do, I try and envision how it will translate into my race, how it’ll translate to my body and how I’m feeling in the race and everything.”

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Vazquez won the 60m hurdle at the Greg Page Relays and finished third at the Virginia Tech invitational. He also placed third at the Florida State relays and fourth at the ACC Indoor Championships. Peters came in second at the Cornell Upstate Challenge and set his personal best of 8.01 at the ACC Indoor Championships.

Both Peters and Vasquez see Hayles as the reason they reached the All-ACC level, mimicking his form and techniques.

“Watching Jaheem, he’s just top tier,” Vasquez said. “I try to replicate some things, and especially when we do starts together, I have to push extra hard to stay with him.”

Hayles, who said he intends on competing in a fifth year at Syracuse next season, became the latest SU track athlete to earn Northeast Region Athlete of the Year. He joined Jarret Eaton (2010, 2012), Justyn Knight (2017, 2018) and JP Trojan (2021).

“Coming to the D-I ranks, moving from the JUCO ranks, I just wanted to do the best I can and be the best that I can be,” Hayles said. “Last year coming in, I was just hungry to do what I had to do.”

While at Iowa Central, Hayles noticed he was running similar times to D-I athletes. He saw his physical build as a weakness and focused on getting stronger once his 2021-22 season came to a close. On April 15, Hayles moved into the top 10 nationally in the 110m hurdles, posting a time of 13.49s in the final at the Tom Jones Memorial. He was short by .05s of his career-best time in the event, which he set at last year’s NCAA Championships. Vazquez finished with a time of 14.46 seconds in the event.

All three hurdlers said Hegland continues to drill the fundamentals of form into their head. With steps between each hurdle, he ensures the hurdlers are not sacrificing precious seconds on improper starts off the block.

“I think they got more comfortable with each other and their system,” Hegland said. “Even just being a student-athlete and all the balancing that entails in keeping on top of academics, managing their travel schedule…in addition to not getting races during that period of COVID.”

To close out the regular season, Syracuse will compete in invitations at UAlbany, Wake Forest and Penn before the ACC Championships in May.

“I’m trying to get at least three people in our (conference) finals,” Vasquez said. “I feel like seeing three or four in our finals in that hurdle line from Syracuse, it’d be a big statement towards every other big hurdle school in the conference.”

Published on April 19, 2023 at 11:00 pm