Canada's Justyn Knight repeats as ACC cross-country champion
Syracuse senior eyeing his 1st individual NCAA Division I title in November
Toronto's Justyn Knight, who finished ninth in the men's 5,000 metres at his track and field world championships debut in the summer, successfully defended his Atlantic Coast Conference cross-country title Friday in Louisville, Ky.
The Syracuse University senior covered the eight-kilometre course in 23 minutes 13 seconds to beat Virginia's Brent Demarest by 2.6 seconds. Knight's Orange teammate, Collin Bennie, placed third in 23:17.1.
Justyn Knight defends his <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACCXC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACCXC</a> title <a href="https://twitter.com/justyn_knight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@justyn_knight</a> <a href="https://t.co/pKxqP2sRof">pic.twitter.com/pKxqP2sRof</a>
—@FloTrackIt represented the eighth consecutive ACC title for Knight and the 21-year-old's second in a row in cross-country. He opened the season two weeks ago, crossing the line in 23:38.5 to win the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in Madison for the second time.
.<a href="https://twitter.com/justyn_knight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@justyn_knight</a> defends his <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NuttyInvite?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NuttyInvite</a> title! <a href="https://twitter.com/Cuse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Cuse</a> <a href="https://t.co/An8G03NDMq">pic.twitter.com/An8G03NDMq</a>
—@FloTrackSyracuse's next race is Nov. 10 at the NCAA's Northeast Regional in Buffalo, with the NCAA championships eight days later at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park, site of Friday's competition.
"He's going to make sure that I'm ready to go," Knight, who's only in his sixth full season of running, told FloTrack, refrerring to Syracuse head coach Chris Fox.
Knight's performance also helped the Syracuse men capture a sixth straight conference team title (five in the ACC and one in the Big East). In the last nine seasons, the No. 4-ranked Orange have won eight conference championships.
"To have Justyn win … and the men win their fifth in a row was outstanding," Fox said. "The men just keep doing their thing." The Orange men are just the third team in ACC history to win five consecutive championships.
In May, Knight won the men's 5,000 at the ACC outdoor championships in 13:52.38.
Knight, who is majoring in social work, entered the world championships fresh off a third-place showing (14:36.23) in the 5,000 at the NCAA Division I Championships.
Among Knight's other 2016-17 highlights:
- Winning the 5,000 at the Payton Jordan Invitational on May 5 in Stanford, Calif., where Knight set a world standard for the season in 13:17.51
- Finishing 0.3 seconds off former Oregon star Edward Cheserek in the 3,000 at the NCAA Division I indoor track and field championships in mid-March. Cheserek was a two-time NCAA champion in the 5,000 and the most accomplished U.S. college runner in history with 17 titles.
- Repeating as ACC indoor champion in the 5,000 in late February