For the first time since earning their first-ever national ranking earlier this season, the Syracuse men's cross country team is set to compete in a star-studded lineup of teams, which features 26 of the 30 nationally ranked squads.
The women' steam, which is still receiving votes in the national poll, will its hands full, as well, with a couple of national powers.
The jam-packed weekend begins tomorrow when the women will race in the National Open at Penn State in State College, Pa., and it will conclude in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday when the men compete in the Pre-Nationals Invitational.
After finishing second at the Paul Short Invitational two weeks ago, the No. 28 Syracuse men's team resumes action on the course where NCAA Nationals will be held on Nov. 19.
"We're going to find out how good we are," SU junior Jeff Scull said. "This is what we've been waiting for. It's been kind of building up to see how good we are. … We're going to see what we're made of."
The men's field at the Pre-Nationals will include defending national champion Colorado, among others powerhouses.
With the level of competition so high, SU head coach Chris Fox said his team will find out truly where his squad stands.
"We'll find out probably if that ranking is deserving - which we kind of feel it is," Fox said. "It gives us a chance to take a shot at some teams that are ranked higher than us that we think we can beat. … If we beat three, four, five or six ranked teams, it will really help push us into nationals."
Fox said the Orange was not good enough to run in the Pre-Nationals last season, but this year, it's a whole different story. Teams are chosen to compete in the race before the year, and spots are usually reserved for the top programs in the country.
"It's a big step for the program," Fox said.
The Pre-Nationals give teams the opportunity to run on the same course where nationals are held and against most of the same teams that will be competing in the championships. For the Orange men, this is an opportunity to prove themselves on the national stage.
"We know this is our shot," Scull said. "If we do well there, we're pretty much going to nationals. We're looking at this race as one of the biggest races any of us has ever run. This is our shot, so we're pretty stoked."
The Pre-Nationals are split up into two different races, the White and the Blue races, so the Orange will race with 13 of the other top teams in the country. When thinking about how well his team could do this weekend, Fox's eyes get big before he quickly return to modesty.
"Everybody has told me if you get 10th (place), you've really done yourself a great job in getting to nationals," Fox said. "So the worst case scenario is we'd like to be 10th. If we could be a little bit better than that, it would be great. On the other hand, these are young guys I'm taking that have never run in a race of this magnitude. We hope, they hope, I hope we're all going to respond well, but it's going to be tough for us."
The National Open on Friday will be tough for the women, as well, as they also take on a top-tier lineup featuring No. 17 Duke and No. 30 Penn State.
SU sophomore Maegan Krifchin isn't satisfied with her team's current position in the national poll and sees this weekend as an opportunity to improve that matter.
"I'm not going to let it get to me," Krifchin said. "I know what we're capable of, and I know what we can do, but it's nice to see that we're getting points - but I definitely think we should be getting more."
The coming weekend could potentially define the rest of the season for Syracuse cross country.
It's a simple matter for Fox. He needed only two words to sum up the pair of meets: "Very important."
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