Syracuse men lead after first night at ACC outdoor meet

On the first night of the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Syracuse racked up points in the men’s 10K to take the lead in the conference with 23 points.

After running in a pack of eight or nine runners for most of the 10K race, Kevin James took the lead and sped up the pace, breaking off with Iliass Aouani and two adversaries. Although Virginia Tech’s Peter Seufer won the event for the second straight year, Aouani took second place and James crossed third.

Five out of the seven fastest runners wore orange, with Philo Germano, Dominic Hockenbury and Joe Dragon finishing fifth, sixth and seventh.

Madeleine Davison finished 11th in the women’s 10K final with a time of 36:15.32. Louisville’s Dorcas Wasike won the race in thrilling fashion, kicking past Anna Rohrer, the favorite from Notre Dame, in the last 800 meters.

In the women’s high jump, Aviana Goode tied for second place with a personal best of 1.69 meters. University of Miami’s Michelle Atherley won the event, adding to the Hurricane’s big first night.

On the men’s side, freshman Randall Johnson leaped 1.97m, approaching his personal best of 2.00m. His mark was last in the conference.

In the men’s preliminary 1500-meter race, Justyn Knight and Simon Smith both qualified for the finals, which will take place Friday night. Knight finished first in his heat.

Danielle Delgado, Jamil Adams, Imani Clark, Dasia Pressley, Eunice Boateng, Kashif Miller, Rachel Bonner, Kelsey Potts, Nathan Henderson and Andy Paladino were all unable to qualify for their event’s final race.

After the first night, Virginia Tech is leading the conference on the women’s side with 37 points. The SU women are in 11th with four points.