Vestri and Hayles Qualify for NCAA Championships!

The duo qualified for the event based on their seed times being in the top-16 nationally of potential participants of the event. Hayles will compete in the 60-meter hurdles, while Vestri will race in the 5,000-meter run.

Hayles set a new PR during his second-place finish at the ACC Championships last week with a time of 7.68 seconds, earning First Team All-ACC honors. His time is tied for the 10th-fastest nationally this season. Hayles has run 7.75 seconds or better in three of his last four races entering the NCAA Championships, including two times below 7.70. This is his second-straight NCAA Championship event after taking ninth in the 110-meter hurdles in June.

Vestri is coming off doubling at the ACC Championships. She finished fourth in the 5k to earn Second Team All-ACC accolades and then took ninth two days later in the 3000-meter run. She set the school record in the 5k with a time of 15:42.48 earlier this season at the Sharon Colyear Danville Season Opener, he only 5k this season prior to ACCs. She also set PRs in the mile (4:47.54) and 3000-meter run (9:04.36) during the regular season. Her 3k time was also a Syracuse record. She has the 18th fastest 5k time in the NCAA this season. This will be Vestri’s first NCAA Championships event since she won the 2021 NCAA Northeast Regional in cross country. She also took 10th at the 2021 outdoor championships in the 10k.

Both events are ones that ‘Cuse has experienced success at nationally in recent years. Jarret Eaton won the 2012 NCAA Championship in the 60-meter hurdles and Freddie Crittenden III was the NCAA runner up in both 2016 and 2017. The duo makes up three of the last seven U.S. Champions in the 60H as well. The 5,000-meter run is where Justyn Knight claimed the Orange’s most recent indoor track and field NCAA title on the men’s side, while Paige Stoner was a First Team All-American for the ‘Cuse women in the 5k at the 2018 indoor championships.

The NCAA Championships begin on March 10 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Vestri will race at 7:05 eastern. Hayles will race in the semifinal of his event at 9:55 p.m. eastern. If he advances to the finals, that race will be at 9:40 p.m. eastern on Saturday, March 11.