Syracuse places 12th, 23rd at NCAA Championships

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Syracuse’s men’s and women’s cross country teams posted impressive finishes at the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The men’s squad placed 12th out of the 31 schools, marking their best showing at Nationals since 2016. The women’s side finished 23rd out of 31 teams after a stellar performance from sophomore Savannah Roark, giving them their best NCAA Championship finish since 2015.

In the men’s 10k, redshirt junior Nathan Lawler (29:41.4) was the Orange’s top finisher, taking 46th place. The next runner was senior Paul O’Donnell (29:50.3) in 58th. This is the second consecutive week that Lawler and O’Donnell were SU’s top two runners.

The Orange’s next two scoring spots went to redshirt seniors Nathan Henderson (30:04.6) and Noah Carey (30:04.9), who placed back-to-back in 81st and 82nd. Redshirt freshman Sam Lawler (30:19.6), true freshman Assaf Harari (30:25.2) and redshirt junior Matthew Scrape (30:37.8) were the final three finishers for SU, finishing 110th, 123rd and 154th, respectively.

SU compiled 340 points while Northern Arizona and host school Oklahoma State finished tied with 83 points each. The Championship went to Northern Arizona on tie-break procedure. Fellow ACC schools Wake Forest, North Carolina, and North Carolina State finished ahead of Syracuse.

In the women’s 8k, sophomore standout Savannah Roark (20:02.9) had a historic day, becoming the first Syracuse All-American since 2017. Additionally, Roark’s 23rd place on Saturday was the second-best individual finish in women’s program history, according to Syracuse Athletics.

The next finisher for the SU women was senior Abigail Spiers (20:46.1) in 124th. Junior Sophia Jacobs-Townsley (20:51.4), redshirt junior Eleanor Lawler (21:12.6) and redshirt junior Ivy Gonzales (21:14.5) rounded out the scoring for the Orange placing 139th, 185th and 189th, respectively. Redshirt senior Shona McCulloch (21:38.9) and sophomore Olivia Joly (22:46.8) placed 221st and 252nd. They raced as the team’s sixth and seventh runners.

The women’s side collected 544 points while ACC foe North Carolina State won their second consecutive title with 114 points. North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Virginia were the other ACC teams to place ahead of Syracuse.