Track & Field

4 Syracuse runners earn All-America honors at NCAA Championships

Courtesy of Syracuse Athletics

Paige Stoner, a sophomore (right), ran a personal best run of 10:02.56, setting a new school record.

Four Syracuse runners earned All-America nods through the first two days of the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, this week. Aidan Tooker and Colin Bennie ran Wednesday, while the Orange women ran Thursday. Justyn Knight, who is competing in the 5000-meter final, will be the last Orange runner to compete at the championships — Friday at 10:25 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Tooker, a true freshman, was first on the track for Syracuse in the 3000-meter steeplechase semifinals. The Saratoga Springs, New York, native finished 21st overall in the semifinals heats, failing to qualify for the final on Friday. His time of 9:02.33 placed him second among all freshman in the country and earned him honorable mention All-America honors, his first selection.

Bennie followed Tooker onto the Hayward Field track a couple of hours later for the 10000-meter final. The junior finished in 29:47.09, good for 20th overall in the country. Bennie’s time warranted honorable mention All-America honors as well, his sixth overall All-America selection.

Syracuse’s two women representatives in the championships, Paige Stoner and Tia Thevenin, competed Thursday. Stoner ran in the 3000-meter steeplechase semifinals. Despite finishing 15th overall and missing the cut for the finals, the sophomore ran a personal best run of 10:02.56, setting a new school record. The Pennsylvania product’s time broke the previous school record of 10:03.18, set by Brianna Nerud in 2013, and earned her Second Team All-America honors.

Thevenin was up next for her 100-meter hurdles semifinal run, after Stoner’s performance in the steeplechase semis. The junior finished 21st overall in the semifinal heats with a time of 14.30 seconds, missing out on the finals but giving Thevenin honorable mention All-America honors, her first career All-America nod.







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