Inside or outside…that didn’t matter this season for Florida State’s men’s track and field team.
After claiming the ACC Indoor Championship back in February, the Seminoles completed an outdoor title on Saturday, outlasting Syracuse and Virginia Tech. While the women were unable to add to their indoor title for FSU, they did have a strong three days with a third place finish in Coral Gables, behind only Miami and Virginia Tech.
The FSU women earned 102.5 points to 117 for ACC champion and host Miami and 111 for the Hokies. The men scored 116 to best second-place Syracuse’s 108 and third-place Virginia Tech’s 105.5.
The first FSU athlete to medal came on the women’s side as sophomore Eleonora Omoregie finished third in the high jump on Thursday. Corion Knight narrowly missed a title on the men’s side in that event, finishing second and just .03 meters shy of Louisville’s Damar Robinson’s mark.
Friday brought more success for Florida State as the men were able to take the overall team lead after finishing the first day in fourth place. The women were able to climb from eighth to fifth.
In the women’s shot put, FSU seniors Gleneve Grange and Ieva Zarankaite took first and second place, respectively. Senior Austin Droogsma claimed the ACC crown on the men’s side for the Seminoles.
The FSU men swept the medals in the long jump as Knight, fellow senior Kenneth Fisher and junior Amari Wallace took the top three spots, respectively. That was the first event during the ACC Championships where a school had the top three finishers. Wallace would claim an ACC championship in the triple jump.
Laura Paredes got the FSU women off to a strong start on Saturday with a gold medal in the javelin throw. Both the FSU men and women finished second in the 4-by-100-meter relay.
In the 100-meter hurdles, sophomore Cortney Jones notched a second-place finish on the women’s side. Freshman Trey Cunningham earned a third-place finish in the men’s 110-meter hurdles.
In the 100-meter dash, Ka’Tia Seymour and Shauna Helps finished first and second, respectively, for the FSU women. Andre Ewers and Darryl Haraway took home first and third, respectively, on the men’s side. Ewers also claimed the ACC title in the 200 meters.
In the women’s discus, Florida State’s Shanice Love, a sophomore, claimed the conference crown with senior Ieva Zarankaite earning the bronze medal.
For the FSU men, the ACC title is the first outdoor championship since 2015. The NCAA preliminary qualifying round for the Seminoles begins in Tampa on May 24.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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