Syracuse Women Finish Seventh at Wisconsin
'Cuse cross country competed at a pair of meets Friday with several members competing at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, while others traveled back to Penn State for the PSU National Open.
At the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, a meet showcasing 17 nationally ranked women teams, the ‘Cuse women took seventh out of 36 teams.
In their mighty performance over the 6,000-meter course, the unranked women’s squad placed ahead of nationally ranked No. 7 Washington, No. 9 Stanford, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 18 Portland, No. 19 Providence, No. 20 Villanova, No. 22 Iowa State, No. 23 Notre Dame, No. 26 UConn, No.28 Furman and No. 30 Oregon State.
The charge was led by senior Amanda Vestri, who posted a ninth-place finish overall in a time of 20:13.3. Freshman Savannah Roark followed next, placing 52nd in a time of 20:55.7., Junior Holly Bent came in just behind Roark in 20:56.8 to place 54th. Senior Annie Boos (21:08.5) and junior Abigail Spiers (21:10.1) rounded out the top five placing 74th and 78th respectively.
Sophomore Sophia Jacobs-Townsley (21:30.6) and freshman Sydney Nowicki (165) placed 132th and 165th to complete the women’s team.
No. 2 New Mexico (93) won the team title fending off No. 1 North Carolina State (102) and No. 3 BYU (152). Syracuse scored 265 points.
For the men, in a field boasting 15 nationally ranked teams, No. 27 ‘Cuse finished 20 out of 31 teams along the 8,000-meter course.
Joe Dragon, a two-time ACC Cross Country Men’s Performer of the Week this season, led the men’s team with a 15th place finish in 23:39.6. Senior Aidan Tooker (24:04.5/52nd) was Syracuse’s second runner, followed by senior JP Trojan (24:25.4/87th). Rounding out the top five, sophomore Noah Beveridge (25:04.0) and freshman Silas Derfel (25:08.8) finished 161st and 174th respectively.
Senior Brody Smith (25:26.4/187th) and junior Nathan Henderson (25:52.5/208th) were Syracuse’s other runners.
At the Penn State PUS National Open, the Orange women placed 9 out of 16 teams.
Sophomore Justus Holden-Betts crossed the line 18th overall on the 6k course in 21:34.1. Freshman Reilly Zink (21:46.1/24th) followed close behind. Junior Eleanor Lawler (22:25.9/44th), sophomore Emily Nugent (23:04.1/89th) and freshman Olivia Joly (23:49.6/123rd) rounded out the team.
The Orange men placed 7 out of 10 along the 5.2 mile course.
Freshman Ethan Wechsler placed 15th overall, finishing in a time of 26:06.4. Sophomores Joey Eovaldi (26:28.5/29th) and Nathan Lawler (26:59.6/44th) were the second and third runners. Freshman Kevin Robertson (27:06.9/47th), senior Jack Whetstone (27:20.0/57th) and junior Matthew Dragon (28:00.7/82nd) rounded out the men’s squad.
Syracuse will race again Friday Oct. 22 at the John Reif Memorial, hosted by Cornell.