Can the Orange finish 2024 in style?
The Syracuse Orange cross-country teams are in Madison, Wisconsin for the 2024 NCAA Cross-Country Championships tomorrow. Races begin at 10:00 ET with coverage on ESPNU starting at 9:30 ET.
Syracuse’s women’s team is coming off a 2nd place finish in the Northeast Regional. Last year the Orange were 27th at NCAAs and they enter tomorrow’s race ranked 25th in the latest poll. Savannah Roark has led the Orange all season and will be looking to earn All-American honors again in her final xc race. Can Emma Eastman and Rylie Lusk stay closer to Roark over the 6k distance? Will Selma Anderson continue to impress in her freshman season? In a race this size, a gap of 10 seconds in the pack can be a difference of 25 places so putting a solid group of 3-4 together in the 115 places can get Syracuse into the top 20.
Another year of making it to the final weekend of the season.
‘Cuse at #NCAAXC by the numbers ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/U70mOaduLG
— Syracuse XC/Track (@CuseXCTF) November 21, 2024
Last year, the Syracuse men finished 9th and had #2 runner Paul O’Donnell been healthy they might have finished top 5. It will be tougher for the 17th-ranked Orange to do that this season, but this is a group of young runners who will be looking to surprise tomorrow. Sam Lawler leads the Northeast Regional champs and once again should be in contention for All-American honors over the 10k distance. Last week, the Orange 1-5 runners had a 50 second gap, which they will hope to close tomorrow. Can Benne Anderson and Connor Ackley step up in their first NCAA XC race? The experienced duo of Alex Comerford and Assaf Harari can help keep the Orange pack connected through the early part of the race.
BYU and Oregon are expected to battle for the women’s team title while the men’s title is a bit more open with BYU, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, New Mexico and Northern Arizona in the hunt.