‘Cuse Posts Highest Scores in 4 Years at ACC Championships

The Syracuse men’s and women’s track and field teams each posted their best finishes in four years at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships.

‘Cuse tallied 30 points on the men’s side, finishing ninth, while the Orange women finished 13th with 11 points. The finishes continue a strong trend for the program, who saw the men’s team post its best finish since 2016 and the women its best since 2015 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships this fall.

Headlined by Paul O’Donnell’s 5,000-meter run championship and Savannah Roark and Amanda Vestri’s All-ACC performances in the women’s 5k, ‘Cuse added three more All-ACC performances and two additional scorers in Saturday’s finals.

Jaheem Hayles was the top performer on Saturday. Hayles finished with a time of 7.68 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, to earn silver, leading three Orange men to finish in the top-five of the race. Clemson’s Giano Roberts won the event in 7.65 seconds. Anthony Vazquez was fourth in 8.05 seconds, followed by David Peters in fifth (8.08 seconds). Both earned Second Team All-ACC honors for their finishes.

Hayles’ time moves him back into eighth nationally ahead of the NCAA Track and Field Championships in two weeks.

Trei Thorogood later turned in a PR in the 60-meter dash. His mark of 6.70 seconds earned him seventh place. Ismael Kone of Florida State won the conference title in 6.57 seconds.

Noah Carey got in on the scoring as well in the 3000-meter run. He finished in 7:56.45, while North Carolina’s Ethan Strand (7:46.48) was the meet winner. Alex Comerford (8:06.90) and Assaf Harari (8:07.51) took 17th and 18th in the event and Silas Derfel (8:18.59) also raced.

After finishing fourth on Thursday in the 5k, Amanda Vestri was ninth in the 3000-meter run on Saturday afternoon. She crossed the line in 9:15.48, less than a second out of the scoring. Savannah Roark, who was the bronze medalist in the 5k two days ago, finished 17th in 9:22.67. Abigail Spiers (9:26.02) was 22nd, and Olivia Joly (9:41.86) was 31st.

Those who qualify will compete in the NCAA Championships in two weeks, which begins on March 10 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.