Syracuse Women’s Cross Country Secure NCAA Regional Title
By: Amaan Mahdi | @amaanm009
No.2 ranked Syracuse Women’s Cross Country won the Northeast Regional with a score of 98 points. The last time the Orange secured a regional title was in 2011.
SU’s Savannah Roark led the way for Syracuse. She finished 6th in the 6k course with a time of 19:59.0, almost 20 seconds faster than the next SU runner, Rylie Lusk. The redshirt Junior placed 16th overall and came in at a time of 20:16.0. Syracuse seniors Madison Neuner and Sophia Jacobs-Townsley crossed the finish line a few seconds later, placing 19th (20:33.4) and 22nd (20:27:4) to medal. Olivia Joly was the last scorer for the Orange with a 35th place finish and a time of 20:40.0. Finally, Emma Eastman and Baneet Bains placed outside the top 35.
Savannah Roark and company fell short of claiming the title at last year’s Northeast Regional. Providence took the number one spot with a total time of 1:44:35 and 71 points, 20 ahead of SU who finished 2nd. But Roark still placed top of the list amongst Syracuse runners. She got 2nd overall for a time of 20:25.6, only five seconds behind Harvard’s Maia Ramsden who finished 1st place.
The Orange get about a week’s rest before heading on to the NCAA championships at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Virginia. Last year, NC State took the top spot with 114 points, about 400 ahead of Syracuse. SU placed 23rd with 544 points. The men’s team finished 12th with 340 points. The Orange get set to race on Saturday, Nov.18.
