As Syracuse prepares for the biggest meet of the year — the NCAA championships — the team’s best runner feels the highlight of the season already happened.

The double upset two weeks ago by the men’s and women’s teams at the NCAA Northeast Regional could be the lasting memory.

‘I think winning regionals when we were not expected to at all would be the highlight of this season,’ Pat Dupont said. ‘Iona was ranked seventh or eighth, and we were ranked No. 29 in the country. To be able to upset them and win by a pretty big margin was really exciting, and it puts us in a good spot going into nationals.’

Both the men’s and women’s teams finished first in the NCAA Northeast Regional in Buffalo on Nov. 12, giving the team a huge momentum boost in preparing for the NCAA championships. The men jumped 17 spots in the national polls this week and are soaring with confidence at the perfect time of the year.

Both teams travel to Terre Haute, Ind., in high spirits for the championship on Monday, Nov. 21.

‘I think everyone’s confidence is up,’ SU head coach Chris Fox said. ‘Neither team was supposed to win and both teams did — the guys kind of dominated and the women didn’t even have their best day and still won — so I think it kind of boosts our confidence going into the biggest meet of the year.’

Although winning regionals is a big deal, the field is much more competitive on the national level with teams like Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Villanova, Columbia and Providence all striving for the same goal — a podium performance at the biggest meet of the season and ultimately a national championship.

Dupont and Lauren Penney, who have finished first on the team in every race this season, are determined to lead their teammates one final time. And though the Syracuse cross country teams do not vote for captains, there is a mutual feeling among runners that the two seniors take the lead on the team and reflect class and dignity.

Both runners will wrap up their cross country careers on Monday, and Dupont said the team’s goal going into the NCAA championships is to improve on last year’s 14th-place finish.

‘Goal-wise, it would be great if both teams were in the top 10,’ Fox said. ‘Both teams could finish within the top 15, but hopefully we can squeeze into the top 10.’

By winning the Northeast Region title, the men’s team jumped up to the No. 12 spot in Tuesday’s poll, a sign that it might be peaking at the right time. The women’s team, who defended its title, fell three spots in the national poll, though, after maintaining a No. 9 ranking for three straight weeks.

Junior Sarah Pagano, a consistent top finisher for the Orange women, will take over Penney’s role as a leader for the team next year. She said winning regionals was an exciting experience, but it’s on to the next race, in which she hopes her team can break into the top 10.

‘We have the confidence to do big things going into nationals,’ Pagano said. ‘Personally, my race at regionals put me in a good spot mentally for nationals. It was like a little confidence booster, so I’m excited.’

Collectively, the women would like to improve on last year’s 10th-place finish. The upperclassman leadership will help motivate the team, and Fox said the success of top runners Dupont and Penney make the rest of the team work harder.

So in the final week, Syracuse strives toward another big-time performance on the national stage.

‘I’m really satisfied with the team’s performance this season because when you start in August, this is what you want to do — get both teams to nationals.’ Fox said. ‘We’re one of the few teams in the country that do it year in and year out.’

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Published on November 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm