 "Photo: Aaron Burden")
One week ago, members of the Syracuse men's cross country team were faced with something they'd never had to deal with before: a spot in the national rankings. After this weekend's Paul Short Invitational meet in Bethlehem, Pa., both the men's and women's teams are becoming more familiar with success.
Led by juniors Jeff Scull and Nana Sang-Bender (placing eighth and 14th in their respective races), the Orange captured a second-place finish in the men's competition, and a sixth-place finish in women's.
"We're satisfied with the results," said SU head coach Chris Fox. "We're pleased, but there's still more to do, and this team has more to show."
Fox's team utilized a mixture of veteran leadership from Scull and Sang-Bender and an encouraging input from its young runners to make the event a successful one.
It's no surprise that the team is optimistic after this weekend's action. There was stiff competition for the men's team at the meet, including regional powerhouse No. 4 Iona, No. 27 Princeton and the meet champions, Villanova. With the exception of the Wildcats, the men's team managed to handily dispatch the rest of the pack on its way to the second-place ranking.
The women's team also faced a tough road, having to deal with No. 13 Princeton and the tough challenge presented by teams such as No. 23 Texas Tech and West Virginia. Despite finishing so well in a field of 47 teams, Fox said the women's team has quite a bit of room to improve.
"On the women's side, we were almost great," Fox said. "All of the kids ran well, though. They definitely had a good meet."
The team's performance wasn't exactly what the coaching staff was expecting, but the women got a huge boost from some of the new faces on the team.
"Maegan Krifchin and Kathleen Hursey both ran very well," Fox said of two of his youngest competitors.
Krifchin finished in 34th and Hursey placed in 41st in a field of 317 runners.
The men's team also experienced a lift from young runners. In addition to Scull, Syracuse placed sophomores Dan Busby and Brad Miller inside the top 20. Freshman Stephen Murdock also finished well, placing 27th out of 268 runners in his first meet at the collegiate level.
"We had a great performance from Murdock and Miller," Fox said. "They ran a great team race."
With so much youth and such great expectations, the team needs strong leaders. And this weekend, juniors Scull and Sang-Bender stepped up to fill that need. The experienced duo lent their expertise to both the score sheet and in the locker room, motivating their fellow team members and posting high finishes.
"They both did what they needed to do, and they finished first (on the team) in each race," Fox said. "They're always consistent, and they ran well."
Under the watchful eye of Fox and the leadership of Scull and Sang-Bender, the team looks to go harder and stronger than ever in the past. Even at this early juncture, Fox has noticed improvement from last season.
"There's more maturity, and we're working harder," Fox said. "Both teams have improved immensely. Last year, we were thinking about being good, but now we're actually getting there, trying to get into the top 25."
Though one of the team's eventual goals is to break into the upper strata of the top 25, Fox says there's not a lot of added pressure on the team from moving up further in the rankings.
The men's team currently ranks 26th in the national poll and third in the northeast region poll. The women moved up to fourth in the region after the Paul Short meet, but the team remains unranked in the national poll.
Despite the daunting task of passing the remaining teams on the course and in the rankings, Fox remains very optimistic after an encouraging weekend.
"These teams are both capable of being in the top four or five in the Big East, and the top two or three in the region," said Fox. "The ultimate goal is to get to nationals, though, and I think we can do that."
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