Entering Saturday's competition at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Syracuse Orange were hoping to continue to show the nation that the program was still on the rise. The Orange delivered by exceeding expectations with the men finishing 11th in the team competition, and three more athletes earning 1st-Team All-American honors.
Hurdler Freddie Crittenden III delivered the Orange's highest finish since Jarret Eaton's title in 2012, with his 2nd-place finish in the 60m hurdles. (As an aside, Eaton won the US Indoor Title on Saturday evening and will compete in next week's World Championships) Crittenden came into the meet with the 8th-fastest seed time, but came through with a personal record of 7.64 in the final to finish behind Oregon's Devon Allen. Crittenden had a strong start and hit the first hurdle in the lead, but the favorite Allen took over and won in a time of 7.56. This is Crittenden's first time as an Indoor Track All-American.
In the 3k, Justyn Knight remained in contention until the final 600m when Oregon's Edward Cheserek took over and pulled away from the field to win in a time of 8:00.40. Knight was able to close in 3rd place in a time of 8:01.85 and his finish was the highest-ever for a Syracuse distance runner. It also means that Knight has now made 1st-Team All-American in cross-country, indoor and outdoor track, and he still has three seasons of indoor and outdoor eligibility left. After the race, Knight spoke with Letsrun.com to recap his performance, and his decision to run the 3k instead of the mile.
Adam Palamar also earned 1st-Team All-American honors in the Mile. Palamar finished 8th with a time of 4:07.89. Virginia Cavaliers star Henry Wynne took the title in 4:06.63.
The Oregon Ducks swept the men's and women's team titles. Syracuse won't wait too long to kick off the Outdoor Track & Field season as they begin the season on April 1st at Stanford and Florida.