Orange Men win Pre-Nationals

Friday, October 16

Terre Haute, IN

10 AM

Syracuse University

NCAA Pre-Nationals

Results

10/16/2026 5:40:00 PM | Cross Country

The Syracuse men's cross country team won the NCAA Pre-Nationals event, a crowded field with 44 teams and a host of ranked squads, to kickoff a busy Friday for the program that featured a pair of meets.

The No. 8 SU men placed all-five scorers inside the top 44, finishing with 115 points as a team. The win bested No. 14 Villanova (127), No. 15 Notre Dame (148), Wichita State (212), No. 29 North Carolina (243), No. 26 Arizona (244) and more.

Connor Ackley placed 15th, completing the 8k course in 23:30.6 to lead the Orange. He was followed one spot behind by Benne Anderson (23:32.3). Ben Gabelman (23:34.3) was 18th, Louis Small (23:40.0) was 22nd and Connell Alford (23:57.1) took 44th. Julian Franjieh (24:02.5) and Edward Blaha (24:15.3) also competed for the Orange, finishing all-seven competitors in the top-91 of a 342 runner field.

The women finished 12th at the meet. No. 2 BYU earned the win with 84 points, followed by No. 1 NC State (88 points). Seven of the 11 teams that finished in front of the Orange were represented in this week's national poll.

Keira Rogan continued her strong start to the season with a 12th-place finish overall (19:38.5). Jayden Harberts (20:49.9) took 88th, followed by Carmen Luisi (20:55.8), Gretta Johnson (21:04.0) and Maisie Burns (21:06.3), in 103rd, 119th and 127th, respectively. Mackenzie Cook (21:40.7) and Natalie Fouts (22:14.4) concluded the Syracuse competitors.

Syracuse was not done for the day either, with other members of the program competing at the Princeton Fall Classic. The 'Cuse men put on another dominant performance earning the team win with 39 points, 43 points ahead of the next-closest team in the 20 squad field.

Drew Zundell was runner up in 24:10 to lead the men, which placed all-five scorers in the top 13. Sam Rucchiuti was fifth in 24:16.3, followed two spots later by Asher Danielson (24:17.4). Charles Guerrera (24:28.3) and Andrew Walson (24:30.4) placed 12th and 13th, respectively. Ruben Rojas Betanzos (25:26.3) also competed.

The women were not entered as a full squad, with just four runners competing. Alycia Hart (22:17.1) led the way in 52nd, followed by Josie Baker (22:28.8), Naomi Ben David (22:30.4) and Sarah Lawson (22:43.9).

The Orange have one final regular season meet at Cornell's John Reif Memorial next Friday, before taking on the ACC Championships on Friday, Oct. 30.