Syracuse men win ACC Cross Country Championships

At the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in Blacksburg, Virginia, the No. 28 Syracuse men reclaimed their spot atop the conference, winning by a slim margin of five points ahead of second-place No. 20 Notre Dame.

After a disappointing loss at the event last year, in which they fell by four points to the Fighting Irish, the Orange edged out the victory despite the absence of standout senior Aidan Tooker, who did not race due to an undisclosed injury. The men have now won the ACC in six of the seven years they’ve been in the conference.

Redshirt sophomore Nathan Henderson (24:39.0) led the way for SU, finishing ninth. Redshirt junior Joe Dragon (24:41.8) returned to form and placed 10th following the worst result of his collegiate career at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. The Orange had four other runners in the top-20. Redshirt freshman Noah Beveridge (24:48.9) finished 15th, redshirt freshman Nathan Lawler (24:51.1) placed 16th, redshirt senior Kevin James (24:53.2) ended in 18th, and redshirt junior Dominic Hockenbury (24:53.8) rounded out the group in 19th.

After tying their highest finish at ACCs last year in third place, the women took a step back, placing fifth. One of the biggest culprits in the result was the absence of sophomore Laura Dickenson, who was the top finisher for Syracuse in 2018.

Junior Amanda Vestri (21:03.6), who has paced the women since transferring from Iowa State, led SU with a ninth place finish. Rachel Bonner (21:16.8), who ended 18th at the event last year, improved on her performance, placing 16th this time out. Vestri and Bonner both earned All-ACC honors with the result. Elsewhere, graduate student Jordan Jacob (21:38.4) placed 28th.

Next up for the Orange is the NCAA Northeast Regional in Buffalo on Nov. 15th.