ST. LOUIS – Syracuse University cross country freshman
Jace Lowry finished in first place in the junior men's race at the 2012 USA Cross Country Championships last weekend in St. Louis. With the victory, Lowry (Paragon, Ind.) secured a spot on Team USA's roster as it competes at the North American, Central American Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships on March 17 in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
"I redshirted the indoor season at Syracuse just so I could run this race," Lowry said. "The first three laps were really relaxed, but things started to pick up on the final lap. As windy as it was, no one really wanted to lead."
Lowry, who ran the 8k race in 24:55, used a late burst of speed up the final hill to edge Minnesota's Adam Zutz and Aaron Bartnik by three seconds.
"It was another good day for Syracuse cross country," head coach
Chris Fox said. "Jace proves that we are continuing to build a national level team. He ran a fantastic race."
Lowry was a two-time All-State cross country student-athlete while attending Martinsville High School, and was a member of the 2011 Indiana All-Star Team. He ran unattached at the John Reif Memorial on October 21 at Cornell, finishing 16th overall with a time of 27:49.90 in the five-mile race.