Real Orange Heroes: NCAA Champion Jarret Eaton

We've got a pretty good athletics program at Syracuse University. Our men's lacrosse team has won a lot of titles. Our men's basketball team is a perennial contender with more awards than we can keep track of. Our women's lacrosse and field hockey teams always seem to be doing well.

Kudos to DOC Gross for improving Syracuse Orange athletics as a whole. But the truth is we don't have a whole lot of National Titles in recent years. Perhaps that's changing and we'll begin to see more and more of them. We're off to a nice start in this new era thanks to senior hurdler Jarret Eaton, who became the first Syracuse individual NCAA champion on Saturday by winning the 2012 NCAA 60-meter hurdle championship.

Eaton, with a time of 7.54 seconds, won the event by 0.01 seconds to complete an undefeated season.

Eaton won every race he competed in during the 2012 season, and broke his own school record in the event on two occasions.

"This is the best day ever for Syracuse track and field," said head coach Chris Fox. "It was a great run by a great young man."

It's the coda on what must be the best career in the history of the sport for SU. Eaton was named the United States Track & Field and Coaches Association Northeast Region Male Track Athlete of the Year, is the 2012 Big East Champion, was named the Big East Male Track Athlete of the Week twice is on the Bowerman Award Watch List, which is the Heisman of track.

Congrats, Jarret. If not already, expect to have your picture taken with DOC Gross, which is the highest honor any Syracuse athlete can receive. You've earned it.

Watch Eaton's run here. Read about more Real Orange Heroes here.