New Faces Star, Aouani Posts Would Be Record Time in Opener

Saturday, December 7

Ithaca, NY

TBA

Syracuse University

Greg Page Relays

New Faces Star, Aouani Posts Would Be Record Time in Opener

12/7/2019 8:46:00 PM | Track and Field, Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field

Whether it was highly anticipated freshmen sprinters or talented transfer distance runners, it was newcomers who stole the show for the Orange in the opening weekend of the indoor track and field season.

There was one familiar face who posted a would-be record time though. Iliass Aouani raced to a time of 13:35.07 in the 5k, the mark would have been the Syracuse record in the 5,000-meters had he not been competing unattached. Aouani, who has exhausted his indoor eligibility and only has outdoor eligibility remaining, set the tone for his final season with a fourth-place at BU, two seconds ahead of what still stands as Colin Bennie's indoor 5k record.

In their first collegiate meet, freshmen sprinters Dennisha Page and Aja Davis made their presence known, finishing first and second in the 60-meter dash in 7.50 and 7.56 seconds, respectively at the Greg Page Relays.

Page has the ninth fastest time in the event nationally to date, albeit this is the first weekend of racing. Her collegiate debut time is just .21 seconds off the Orange program record (7.29, Shaina Harrison, 2016). Davis' time ranks 19th nationally currently.

In addition to the freshmen tandem, junior Eunice Boateng (7.64) and senior Dasia Pressley (7.65) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while junior Justice Richardson (7.68) placed seventh in the 60-meter dash.

Fellow rookie Shaleah Colaire also won her debut, finishing in 8.54 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles for the win. Her time is also nationally ranked, checking in at 16th currently. Teammate Aviana Goode was the second-fastest collegian in the event with a mark of 8.74 seconds.

Freshman Naseem Smith won the men's 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.14 seconds. He was followed closely by Jamil Adams (8.32) for second. Andrew Aguilera (8.45) took fifth.

Out in Boston at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, Jordan Jacob finished fifth in her section of the 5000-meter run in her Syracuse track debut. Her time of 16:28.27 was 24th overall in the 78-runner field, which was also an indoor PR in the event. Teammate Annie Heffernan took 43rd in her first meet, finishing in 17:26.41.

Joey Eovaldi took 30th in the 93-runner 5k at Boston, crossing the line in 14:28.52. Freshman Silas Derfel (14:36.87) and Alex Comerford (15:05.50) were not far off the pace.

In the seldomly raced 500-meter run, Orange senior Phoebe Aguiar took the win while racing unattached. She crossed the line in 1:15.21, three seconds ahead of the field. Freshman Sarah Eddy (1:21.79) finished third, followed by sophomore Bearett Tarris (1:24.15) and Olivia Elston (1:28.22), who also turned in top-10 finishes.

Austin Rucker (1:08.34) turned in a third-place finish for the 'Cuse men in the 500, while Chase Balick (1:10.60) and Cameron Bailey (1:16.98) finished eighth and 17th, respectively.

Freshmen Kate Kemnitz finished second and first among collegians in the women's 3000-meter run, while teammate Keiana Mitchell took fourth. Matt Cavallaro crossed the line in fifth in the men's 3k, while Robert Roosa took 11th.

In addition, Mariana McManus took 42nd in the 300.

The Syracuse men's 4x800-meter relay team of Connor Preston, Ryan Jermyn, James Proctor and Balick finished second in 8:13.95.