Three Syracuse track athletes were competing in last night’s semifinal round of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon with one of the three advancing to tomorrow night’s final round.
Benne Anderson ran a personal best of 3:36.14 to finish 4th in his heat and advance to Friday’s final in the 1500m. Anderson’s time was the 4th-fastest of the semifinal rounds and is even more impressive because he found himself struggling to get out of traffic until the final 100 meters.
Anderson’s
heat went 2nd and the athletes took advantage of knowing what they needed to push the pace. The Syracuse standout showed poise in the final lap as he worked to get into qualifying position. He will race tomorrow night at 8:12 pm eastern on ESPN.
Jamir Brown finished 4th in his heat of the 110m hurdles in a time of 13.37 seconds. Brown missed qualifying for the final by one-hundreth of a second. In one of the other heats, Auburn’s Ja’Kobe Tharp set a new World Record with a time of 12.75….an unreal performance, which was the highlight of the sports night for a couple of hours.
It was an incredible first year for Brown as he and Syracuse got some pre-race love from former Olympic decathlete Dan O’Brien for the Orange’s string of successful hurdlers. It’s a testament to sprint/hurdle coach Dave Hegland as he’s been able to get athletes to the NCAA meet the last decade.
Elijah Mallard ended his stellar season and career with a 5th-place finish in his heat in the 400m hurdles. His time of 50.03 was 14th-best in the event. Mallard leaves Syracuse after setting several school records and having the most underappreciated season of any Orange athlete.
