ACC Championships Await

Thursday, February 23

Louisville, KY

TBA

Syracuse University

ACC Championships

2/22/2023 3:16:00 PM | Track and Field

The Syracuse track and field teams will compete for ACC Championships this weekend at Cornell.

Meet Information
Dates: Thursday - Saturday
Location: Louisville, Ky. | Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center
Watch: ACCNX
Live Results: Here

MEET PREVIEW
The ACC Championship will be hotly contested by some of the nation's top programs in track and field.

The men's meet will feature No. 11 Florida State and No. 13 Louisville as the two ranked teams competing. Virginia Tech is the two-time defending champion entering the meet. In the last 20 years, just three teams have won the ACC Indoor team title – Florida State, Virginia Tech and Syracuse.

The women's meet will feature four of the nation's top-24 programs in this week's USTFCCCA poll, including two in the top-10 and has seen much more parity at the championships in the event's history. The last 20 championships have been split up amongst six schools, but the meet favorite is seeking their first in league history. No. 5 NC State is the highest ranked team in the field, followed by No. 9 Virginia Tech, No. 22 Duke and No. 24 Notre Dame.

THURSDAY ENTRIES
200-Meters
The Orange will begin their competition in the 200-meter dash. The event kicks off the track portion of the meet at 5 p.m., where 27 women will compete across seven heats and eight will advance on time to the finals. Kaleia Arrington and Peyton Rollins are the two Orange competitors entered in the third and seventh heats, respectively. Florida State's Dajaz Defrand has the fastest time in the league this season, clocking in at 23.00 seconds.

The men's race will follow, with 21 men entered. There will be six men's heats, with eight advancing to the finals. James Nmah and Carlton Landingham are the two Orange entered, with Louisville's Cameron Miller starting as the pre-meet favorite from his time of 20.33 seconds earlier this season, which is second in the NCAA.

The eight finalists will advance to Saturday, with the women's 200 taking place at 2 p.m. and the men's race coming 10 minutes later.

5000-Meters
Two of the five-fastest seeded runners in this event will don the Orange. Amanda Vestri (third) and Savannah Roark (fifth) will both race in the seeded 5k final at 6 p.m. Vestri was the 2021 champion in this event and did not compete in 2022.

NC State's Katelyn Touhy, who has the fastest time nationally in the event this season and won the title last season, is not entered in this event at the ACC Championships. Her teammate, Kelsey Chimel, enters with the fastest seed time at 15:27.83. Amanda Vestri set a new school record at 15:42.48 earlier this season.

In addition to Vestri and Roark, Ellie Lawler will compete in first section of the event at 4:05 p.m.

Three of the 16 men entered in the seeded final of the 5k represent 'Cuse. Sam Lawler, Noah Carey and Nathan Lawler will race at 6:30 p.m., while Paul O'Donnell, Assaf Harari and Ethan Wechsler will compete at 4:30 as part of a 24-man field in section one.

North Carolina's Parker Wolfe has the fastest time in the league to date this season (13:19.73). Nathan Lawler has the ninth-fastest seed time in the event, followed by his brother at the 10th spot. Carey has not run a 5k this indoor season.

DMR
Thursday night will conclude with a men's DMR final. Syracuse will race in the second of two heats in the event. North Carolina, the pre-meet favorite entering ranked third nationally, will be in Syracuse's heat.

FRIDAY ENTRIES
Mile
Friday kicks off at 3:15 p.m. for the Orange in the women's mile. Three heats, making up 18 competitors, will race with the top-two finishers in each heat, plus the next-four fastest times advancing to Saturday.

Sydney Nowicki and Caroline Kirby are entered for the Orange. The women with the six-fastest times in the event in the league this season are all not entered in the mile. NC State's Samantha Bush (4:37.79) owns the best time amongst the entered runners.

Karl Winter and Kevin Robertson will then race for the men. Winter became the eighth man in school history to break the four-minute mile barrier in Boston earlier this season. A historically fast ACC field, 11 men in the four heats have all turned in a sub-four minute mile this season. Wake Forest's Thomas Vanopeen has the league's best time this year at 3:54.85.

With four heats in the men's field, the top-two in each heat, plus next two fastest times are who'll advance to Saturday's final, which begins with the women at Noon.

60-Meter Hurdles
Three of the nation's top-eight ranked hurdlers are entered in the ACC Championship field this weekend. Cameron Murray (7.62) of NC State, Giano Roberts (7.62) of Clemson and Syracuse's Jaheem Hayles (7.69) all have run below 7.70 seconds this season to set their seed times.

Of the 10 entries, four are members of the Orange, as Hayles will be joined by Anthony Vazzquez and David Peters in heat one, followed by Naseem Smith in the second heat. The top-two finishers from each heat, plus next four best times will advance to Saturday's final.

Two women are entered in the 60-meter hurdles, with Shaleah Colaire in heat two and Peyton Rollins in heat three. There are 20 women who will start, with the winner of each heat plus the next-five fastest times advancing.

400-Meters
Elijah Mallard and Xayvion Perkins will represent the Syracuse men in the 400. Twenty-nine runners are entered in the event, with the eight fastest times advancing to Saturday's final.

Virginia Tech's Judson Lincoln has the fastest seed time in the event from the league, with a mark of 45.97.

60-Meters
Kaleia Arrington and Kahniya James are both in the first heat of the 60-meter dash prelims. The winner of each of the three heats, plus the next-five fastest times will advance to Saturday. Clemson's Kiara Grant is the pre-meet favorite, owning the nation's second-fastest time (7.09). Grant is in the second heat.

In the men's race, Daijon Richards will be in heat two, and Trei Thorogood will be in the third heat, with the same conditions for those to advance. Florida State's Ismael Kone owns the nation's fastest time (6.51) and is entered in Richards' heat. Two of the five-fastest runners in the event nationally this year are set to compete in the meet this weekend.

800-Meters
Alexander Segarra is in the fifth of five heats in the 800-meter run on Friday. The winner of each heat plus the next-three fastest times will advance to Saturday. Miami's Ayman Zahafi – who has the nation's eighth-fastest time this year – owns the fastest seed time and will be in heat one.

SATURDAY ENTRIES
3000-Meters
Amanda Vestri – who also set the school record in this event this season – will also race in this event after taking on the 5k on Thursday night. Savannah Roark will also race in the second heat and Olivia Joly and Abigail Spiers will run in heat one.

Three of the nation's top six, 11 of the top 34 and 14 of the top-50 fastest 3000-meter runners this season (including Roark and Vestri) are entered in the field, making this one of the most hotly contested events. NCAA record holder Katelyn Touhy holds the fastest seed time at the meet (8:35.20). The women's 3k will be at 2:20 p.m.

The men's race will immediately follow. Noah Carey – who has the 11th best time in the league – is Syracuse's representative in the second heat. Alex Comerford, Nathan Lawler, Sam Lawler, Paul O'Donnell, Assaf Harari and Silas Derfel are entered in heat one.

All other Saturday events are finals from Thursday and Friday's prelims.