Nathan Henderson was exhausted. As he ran toward the final stretch of the four-mile race, he heard his coaches telling him to kick faster. There was only one thing on his mind: the finish line. Henderson finished the Harry Lang Invitational with a time of 21:09.9, good for first place.

“It was definitely exciting,” Henderson said. “It was my first run with the ‘Cuse colors on.”

Henderson, a redshirt freshman, had never officially run for Syracuse cross country before, but it wasn’t his first collegiate race. During his redshirt year, Henderson made his college debut at the John Reif Memorial while running unattached. And just like at the Harry Lang Invitational, he won.

In his second year at SU, Henderson is running more consistently with the victory and a 19th place finish at the ACC Championships in Boston, earning him All-ACC honors in the process.

“My senior year of high school, he beat me at Penn Relays,” junior Aidan Tooker said. “I had no clue who he was at the time, but he ended up here and he’s a great personality and a really talented kid.”

Coming out of high school, Henderson recognized Syracuse’s strength in balancing athletics and academics. But what ultimately sold him on SU was the “team dynamic” he saw from the cross country team, during his visit.

In his first year at Syracuse, Henderson decided to redshirt, he said. He wasn’t sure about how he’d handle the transition to college athletics, while also dealing with a full course load.

“It allowed me to get stronger, get more knowledge on the sport itself in college,” Henderson said. “And so it made me a better runner.”

For some runners, it would have proven to be a difficult transition from being a high school star to sitting out essentially every competition in their first year. For Henderson, it proved to be a beneficial experience as he learned how to balance academics and athletics without the pressure of competing.

Henderson kept up with the veterans during their initial workouts, Tooker said. This past summer, Henderson continued his work by following a detailed training schedule laid out by his coaches.

“I was more consistent with the increased mileage,” Henderson said. “I feel like it just strengthened my body and my lungs to be able to run.”

When Henderson came back this year, the change was notable. Head coach Brien Bell saw how much more mature and stronger he was compared to his first year.

“It’s been really inspiring for me to see him start cashing in on his career,” Bell said. “And with him being only a redshirt freshman, it looks like it’s gonna be a great four years for him.”

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After his impressive performance at the ACC Championships, and with the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, Henderson is more important to the Orange than ever before, particularly with sophomore Noah Affolder’s health status in question.

Henderson finished 61st at last weekend’s NCAA Northeast Regional. He wasn’t one of the five Syracuse runners to score for the team. But his two years of preparation have him confident and aiming for a top-10 finish Saturday.

“I definitely feel like I’ve come a long way,” Henderson said. “Just running consistently makes me feel more confident.”

Published on November 13, 2018 at 11:33 pm

Contact Alex: athamer@syr.edu