The Syracuse cross country teams racked up a lot more miles than usual this weekend. Instead of competing in one meet taking place at the same location, as the two teams usually do, the men's and women's teams traveled to different regions of the country to run in two different meets.
Despite the distances they had to travel and the strange experience of being apart for a meet, both teams finished well against difficult competition. Most importantly, they gained valuable experience against teams that will likely be their most stalwart opponents in gaining an invitation to the NCAA Championships in November.
The men's team traveled to Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday to run in the Pre-Nationals Invitational and finished 13th in a field of 25 other teams ranked in the national poll. The women's team traveled to State College, Pa., Friday for the National Open. It finished fourth overall in a field including nationally ranked Duke (No. 17), and the meet's host, Penn State (No. 30).
But the men were competing at the highest stage. Fifty-three other teams took part in the meet, and Syracuse ran a race that should help it to regain a few spots in the rankings. SU junior Jeff Scull placed highest among the Orange for the second consecutive meet, posting a solid 35th place finish in a field of 273.
"This was the team's first time on a stage this big," SU head coach Chris Fox said. "The competition was the best in the country. That's as high as it gets."
Also running well for Syracuse were Dan Busby and Jordan Davis, who finished 51st and 59th, respectively.
Though the Orange posted respectable finishes for such a large meet, there's still a long way to go. The team currently ranks behind several other Big East clubs in the top 30. In order to advance to nationals, Scull and his teammates will have to find a way to deal with such powerhouses as Notre Dame (No. 7), Georgetown (No. 12) and Providence (No. 14). These teams all look to show well in the Big East championship meet in two weeks. It will be critical for Syracuse to place high at the championship in order to make the national meet.
"This weekend, we proved who we are, but I still think we're better," Fox said. "If we can tighten it up on the back end, we'll be poised to do better at the meet than any other team in the history of Syracuse."
Fox will look to Davis in particular to help energize the team. Davis, a graduate student, has made progress since he began running, and if he continues to improve, the team can be confident that it will soon begin to ascend the rankings.
"Jordan is new," Fox said. "He's come a long way for the amount of time he's been with us, and he's improved a lot this season."
On the women's side, Nana Sang-Bender once again paced the Orange with a ninth-place finish in a field of 278. Other notable finishes were Liz Cufari, placing 15th, and Katie Hursey, who rounded out the top 25.
"It was a solid performance, and I'm definitely pleased," Fox said of the women. "This is the best competition the team has faced so far, and several members of the team had great runs."
The National Open finish is certainly a high point for the women's team. It has consistently shown improvement since the preseason and has continued to receive an increasing amount of votes in the national poll. The team will continue to hone its skills in preparation for the ever-looming Big East championship.
"We're right where we want to be at this point," Fox said. "But if we can get a little better, we can be great."
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