Syracuse Track and Field continues to build towards ACC Championships

The Syracuse Orange track and field teams spent the weekend split between Miami and Bucknell as they work to get more ACC Championships qualifiers. With a month to go before the championship portion of the schedule arrives Syracuse is trying to position their athletes to have the most flexibility when it comes to meet entries.

Down in Miami at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational, Richard Floyd delivered a 3rd place time in the 110m hurdles in a time of 13.98. The time moved Floyd up to 3rd on the ACC outdoor list and has him 15th in the NCAA Eastern Regional list.

At Bucknell the Syracuse distance squad was led by Aidan Tooker’s 1500. Tooker ran a 3:45.65 to take over the 6th spot on the ACC list. He was followed by Michael Phillips (3:47.52 for 8th), Nathan Henderson (3:48.5 for 12th) and Noah Beveridge (3:48.76 for 14th).

Simon Smith made his debut in the 3000m steeplechase and his time of 9:10.02 puts him 7th in the ACC while Kevin James’ 5000m time of 14:19 lands him 18th in the conference.

With the top Syracuse women home, Abigail Spiers led the way with a 17th place finish in the 1500m in a time of 4:28.81 while Olivia Elston was 34th in the 5000m with a 17:29.9.

The Orange sprint and hurdle group has some work to do to get more NCAA Regional qualifiers but with temperatures rising that group should get more practice time outdoors. It’s difficult for the hurdlers to find their rhythm when working indoors so look for faster times to come.

Next weekend Syracuse will travel to Princeton and Virginia. Since the ACC Outdoor Championships will be hosted by Virginia this year, it will be a good opportunity for the athletes to acclimate to the facility.