Photo by: Mike Scott
Knight Named USTFCCCA Athlete of the Year
11/21/2017 12:20:00 PM | Cross Country
Knight honored following NCAA National Championship
His closing push over the final 2k earned him the first NCAA Individual Cross Country Championship in program history on Saturday.
Now he's earned another first.
Justyn Knight is the first Syracuse student-athlete to be named U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches' Association Men's Athlete of the Year, earning the award on Tuesday from the organization.
Knight started his cross country season late this year – for good reason – as the Orange senior competed in the IAAF World Championships, taking ninth in the 5000-meters in London. Once he returned, he raced his way to an undefeated cross country season, successfully defending his own championships at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, ACC Championship and NCAA Northeast Regional.
His win at the Northeast Regional earned him USTFCCCA Northeast Region Performer of the Year for the third-straight season heading into the NCAA Championship.
In Louisville, Knight entered the race as a seven-time All-American between cross country and track, finishing in the top-four nationally in four previous races but still seeking his first national title.
With 2000-meters remaining in the 10k race, Knight wouldn't be denied in 2017, pushing past a pair of Northern Arizona contenders, sprinting to the finish line to claim his first NCAA title and the first individual title in program history.
He concludes his cross country career as an individual national champion, member of the 2015 NCAA Team Champions, three-time winner of the Northeast Region Meet, two-time ACC Champion, three-time NCAA podium finisher and three-time All-American. He also has individual wins at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational (2015 and 2016), Panorama Farms Invitational (2016) and Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown (2015) to complement his championship meet victories.
In his four-year career, Knight has won a remarkable 10 of the 18 cross country races he ran, including an 8-1 record over his last nine starts. His only loss from his junior year forward was a runner-up finish at the 2016 NCAA Championship.
Adding his time on the track, Knight enters his third indoor track season at Syracuse as a nine-time All-American and eight-time ACC individual champion. He's also contributed to five ACC team championships, been honored as the Northeast Region Performer of the Year in four-straight seasons, is the reigning ACC Indoor Track Performer of the Year and 2016 ACC Championship Meet MVP.
The Vaughn, Ontario native is majoring in social work at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
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Now he's earned another first.
Justyn Knight is the first Syracuse student-athlete to be named U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches' Association Men's Athlete of the Year, earning the award on Tuesday from the organization.
Knight started his cross country season late this year – for good reason – as the Orange senior competed in the IAAF World Championships, taking ninth in the 5000-meters in London. Once he returned, he raced his way to an undefeated cross country season, successfully defending his own championships at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, ACC Championship and NCAA Northeast Regional.
His win at the Northeast Regional earned him USTFCCCA Northeast Region Performer of the Year for the third-straight season heading into the NCAA Championship.
In Louisville, Knight entered the race as a seven-time All-American between cross country and track, finishing in the top-four nationally in four previous races but still seeking his first national title.
With 2000-meters remaining in the 10k race, Knight wouldn't be denied in 2017, pushing past a pair of Northern Arizona contenders, sprinting to the finish line to claim his first NCAA title and the first individual title in program history.
He concludes his cross country career as an individual national champion, member of the 2015 NCAA Team Champions, three-time winner of the Northeast Region Meet, two-time ACC Champion, three-time NCAA podium finisher and three-time All-American. He also has individual wins at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational (2015 and 2016), Panorama Farms Invitational (2016) and Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown (2015) to complement his championship meet victories.
In his four-year career, Knight has won a remarkable 10 of the 18 cross country races he ran, including an 8-1 record over his last nine starts. His only loss from his junior year forward was a runner-up finish at the 2016 NCAA Championship.
Adding his time on the track, Knight enters his third indoor track season at Syracuse as a nine-time All-American and eight-time ACC individual champion. He's also contributed to five ACC team championships, been honored as the Northeast Region Performer of the Year in four-straight seasons, is the reigning ACC Indoor Track Performer of the Year and 2016 ACC Championship Meet MVP.
The Vaughn, Ontario native is majoring in social work at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
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