At the beginning of the year, Syracuse track coach Chris Fox said Chris Muldoon would be a major factor in the Big East championships this season. Muldoon went through some rough patches in his preparation during the year, including suffering from dehydration on SU’s home track, but the senior believes the worst is behind him and he is ready to contend for a Big East title this weekend.

Muldoon and the Syracuse track team arrived in Akron, Ohio, on Thursday, where they will compete in the Big East championships starting Saturday. Fox said this weekend means a lot to the team, since it has been training for the conference championships all season long. The women’s team is sending 12 competitors to Akron compared with 14 on the men’s side.

‘We’ve made a huge deal out of it all season,’ Fox said. ‘If they don’t know how important it is, by the end of this weekend they will, or they shouldn’t be out here.’

Muldoon plans to run both the 3,000 and 5,000-meter races. In order to do well he will have to overcome his recent struggles in competition.

At the Syracuse Invitational on Feb. 4, Muldoon won the 5,000 with a time of 14:54, but had to be carried to the training room after becoming dehydrated. Earlier, Muldoon ran the first half of the 3,000-meter race, trying to set a pace for his teammate Matt Lawson. Because there was not a scheduled time for each event Muldoon did not know how much to eat and drink between the run and that lack of preparation hurt him later in the day.

‘I felt great when I was pacing (Lawson),’ Muldoon said. ‘When I came back two and a half hours later, I felt awful.’

After 20 minutes of drinking water and Gatorade in the training room, he was back to his old self, feeling no ill effects from the run. Despite winning the race, Muldoon was not pleased with his performance.

The senior expected to run an easy race for a time near 14:40, but was surprised when he struggled to run a 14:54 race. He would be even more confused when he woke up the next morning.

‘Usually after the (5-kilometer) I feel trashed the next morning,’ Muldoon said. ‘When I woke up it was like I had a day off the day before.’

Confusion has been a problem for Muldoon in recent weeks as he has struggled to find a rhythm in his workouts and in competitions. He said his training has gone well, but it hasn’t shown in the competitions.

Muldoon and Fox believe the senior is in shape to run the 5,000 meters in 14:10 seconds, but he finished almost 40 seconds behind that mark in Syracuse.

‘That’s kind of how the last couple of weeks have been,’ Muldoon said. ‘Nothing’s been too awful, but I’m just trying to figure it out.’

Despite the recent adversity, Muldoon is optimistic about traveling to Akron for the conference championships. The senior said his final practice on Wednesday was his best workout in a long time, and he was confident he would run well this weekend.

Said Muldoon: ‘Hopefully starting now my racing can finally catch up to my training.’

Published on February 16, 2006 at 12:00 pm