Saturday, November 19
Terre Haute, IND
Noon
Syracuse University
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Rachel Keyes
Knight Takes Second, Orange Third at NCAA Championship
11/19/2016 2:03:00 PM | Cross Country
For the second-straight year the Syracuse men's cross country team found itself on the podium at the NCAA Championship, finishing third overall behind junior Justyn Knight's national runner-up performance.
For head coach Chris Fox, it's the fourth-straight top-10 finish and third-straight top-five performance for the men's team. Northern Arizona claimed the team title with 125 points, Stanford finished second with 158 points and 'Cuse took third just six points behind the Cardinal.
"Overall I'm really pleased," Fox said. "The guys ran awesome, they took a shot and we had a real good chance to win until late, but things happen, that's part of the sport. To come back after last year and match back up with everyone in the country when no one really thought we could do it is pretty cool."
Full Results
Knight hung with the lead pack for the duration of the race, eventually making a move with three-time defending NCAA Champion Edward Cheserek of Oregon and Villanova's Patrick Tiernan with little more than 2k remaining. Knight then answered a move by Tiernan, which left Cheserek behind in third. Tiernan kept pushing the tempo, with Knight hanging back 10 meters, eventually coming up just short during his final kick to take national runner up honors.
"It was a good race," Knight said. "Tiernan is a very talented runner, he's an Olympian and I was happy with the way I finished. Going towards next year it just gives me something to strive for. I'm really happy for the team and what we were able to accomplish with a third place finish."
His performance is the best individual finish in program history at the NCAA Championships.
Behind Knight, Colin Bennie earned his second-straight All-American nod, with senior Joel Hubbard also collecting the honor for the first time in his career.
Knight crossed the line in 29:27.3, with Bennie (17th/30:10.4) and Hubbard (34th/30:21.3) also finishing in the top-40.
Philo Germano served as the fourth Orange scorer with his time of 30:32.5, which was good for 49th, and Adam Visokay in 108th (30:55.5) rounding out the 'Cuse scoring.
Kevin James (30:58.6), finished in 116th and Iliass Aouani (31:06.4) took 128th.
The Orange looks like they'll have a bright future continuing as well, as five of 'Cuse's top-seven are underclassmen.
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For head coach Chris Fox, it's the fourth-straight top-10 finish and third-straight top-five performance for the men's team. Northern Arizona claimed the team title with 125 points, Stanford finished second with 158 points and 'Cuse took third just six points behind the Cardinal.
"Overall I'm really pleased," Fox said. "The guys ran awesome, they took a shot and we had a real good chance to win until late, but things happen, that's part of the sport. To come back after last year and match back up with everyone in the country when no one really thought we could do it is pretty cool."
Full Results
Knight hung with the lead pack for the duration of the race, eventually making a move with three-time defending NCAA Champion Edward Cheserek of Oregon and Villanova's Patrick Tiernan with little more than 2k remaining. Knight then answered a move by Tiernan, which left Cheserek behind in third. Tiernan kept pushing the tempo, with Knight hanging back 10 meters, eventually coming up just short during his final kick to take national runner up honors.
"It was a good race," Knight said. "Tiernan is a very talented runner, he's an Olympian and I was happy with the way I finished. Going towards next year it just gives me something to strive for. I'm really happy for the team and what we were able to accomplish with a third place finish."
His performance is the best individual finish in program history at the NCAA Championships.
Behind Knight, Colin Bennie earned his second-straight All-American nod, with senior Joel Hubbard also collecting the honor for the first time in his career.
Knight crossed the line in 29:27.3, with Bennie (17th/30:10.4) and Hubbard (34th/30:21.3) also finishing in the top-40.
Philo Germano served as the fourth Orange scorer with his time of 30:32.5, which was good for 49th, and Adam Visokay in 108th (30:55.5) rounding out the 'Cuse scoring.
Kevin James (30:58.6), finished in 116th and Iliass Aouani (31:06.4) took 128th.
The Orange looks like they'll have a bright future continuing as well, as five of 'Cuse's top-seven are underclassmen.
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Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
Distance
/ Cross Country
Distance
/ Cross Country
Distance
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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