Syracuse upsets Colorado for NCAA cross country men's title

Syracuse wins its first NCAA cross-country championship since 1951.

Author:
SI Wire
Publish date:
Nov 21, 2015

The Syracuse men's cross country team won its first NCAA cross country championship since 1951 at E. P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday.

Syracuse pulled off the 82–91 upset over Colorado to prevent a third consecutive team victory by the Buffaloes.

The Orange were led by sophomore Justyn Knight who finished fourth in 29:46.1 on the 10-kilometer course. Sophomore Colin Bennie would be the next across the finish line in 29:55.9 for eighth place as senior Martin Hehir followed just five seconds later in 29:59.5 for ninth.

Syracuse sophomore Philo Germano moved up 14 places between the eight-kilometer mark and the finish. He placed 39th overall for 29 points.

• Oregon's Edward Cheserek wins third NCAA cross country title

Colorado was looking to become the first team to win three consecutive titles since Arkansas won in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Last year, the Buffaloes put three men in the top 10. This year, senior Pierce Murphy was the lone top 10 finisher for Colorado as he led the team with a third place finish in 29:37.0. Colorado's fifth man, Connor Winter, finished in 33rd place to score 25 points.

Stanford finished third with 151 points. Senior Jim Rosa led the team with a 29:52.7 performance for sixth place.

Full results can be viewed here

Men's top 10 finishers

1. Edward Cheserek, Oregon - 28:45.8

2. Patrick Tiernan, Villanoca - 29:11.1

3. Pierce Murphy, Colorado - 29:37.0

4. Justyn Knight, Syracuse - 29:46.1

5. Jonathan Green, Georgetown - 29:49.5

6. Jim Rosa, Stanford - 29:52.7

7. Sean McGorty, Stanford - 29:53.4

8. Colin Bennie, Syracuse -2 9:55.9

9. Martin Hehir, Syracuse - 29:59.5