Roughly 70 percent of Syracuse’s cross-country runners sacrificed their summer for the good of the team. They voluntarily remained on campus during the summer months, working out on their own and with their roommates to come into the 2011 season in the best possible shape.

 ‘Seventy percent is a lot,’ said SU head coach Chris Fox, who is now in his seventh season with the Orange. ‘They chose to stay on their own, which is pretty cool, actually.’

Expectations are higher in 2011 after the men’s team won the Big East championship for the second straight year. The runners’ desire to defend their title played a big role in their offseason dedication. Members of the women’s team trained in Syracuse over the summer as well.

The effectiveness of those summer workouts will be judged for the first time this weekend when the teams kick off the regular season at the Harry Lang Invitational in Hamilton, N.Y.

‘We want to improve,’ Fox said. ‘We want to defend our Big East title on the men’s side because that is very important to us. We also want to break into the Top 10 at nationals.’

Fox said seniors Tito Medrano and Pat Dupont are two runners that are expected to make major contributions for the men’s team this season after earning All-American honors previously in their careers.

Medrano’s best finish on the national stage was back in 2009 when he placed 39th at the national championships. Dupont earned All-American honors last season after he posted a 27th place finish.

Dupont knows that he is seen as a leader on the team after garnering such an accolade. He tries to lead by example, showing the other runners what helped him be so successful.

‘I make sure I’m doing everything right,’ Dupont said. ‘I make sure I eat, sleep and show up to practice ready to work hard every day.’

Both the men’s and women’s U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national team rankings were announced Tuesday, creating even more drive to improve.

The men’s team will start the season at No. 14 in the country, while the women’s team isn’t far behind at No. 15.

The women’s side has the same goal as the men for 2011 — to improve as a team and ultimately move up in the rankings as the season progresses.

‘It’s obviously really good to be ranked at all, but I think that we’re kind of underestimated right now,’ senior Lauren Penney said. ‘It’s fine to be an underdog, but I think that we have some really good potential, and we can do a lot better than 15th.’

Fox said he has a core group of four female runners that he expects to be top performers for the Orange this season. Fox expects his runners to strive for a goal of placing in the top seven or eight at Nationals, after placing a program-best 10th in 2010.

‘We have four really good girls: Lauren Penney, Natalie Busby, Heather Stephens and Sarah Pagano,’ Fox said. ‘All four, in different times of their careers, have been All-Big East, and they are all probably hoping to make All-American this year. They’re really good and they’re on a good team.’

Fox called the Big East the toughest cross-country conference in the nation. And with a third-place finish at the Big East championship for the women’s team last year, there’s still room for improvement during 2011.

Along with moving up in the rankings, the women’s team hopes to develop some of the younger athletes and unify the team as a whole. Especially with three of those four top runners set to graduate in May.

Most of Syracuse’s top runners will sit out the Harry Lang Invitational to ease back into the swing of things. Fox said only one of his top runners would be competing this weekend.

The postseason races are what the top runners have in mind. ‘Our regular season is not that important, it doesn’t have any bearing on going to nationals or anything like that, so we build into things slowly,’ Fox said. ‘We’re running young, inexperienced people this weekend, for the most part, and maybe a few veterans who are coming back from injuries or illnesses.’ 

acptachi@syr.edu

Published on August 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm