Syracuse cross country falls at Meadows Invitational
By Jack Knight | @Jack_On_Sports
The month of September has been a picture-perfect start for Syracuse cross country. The Oranges’s men’s and women’s teams won their first two races, with the men’s side winning both by palpable margins. And for the SU women, it was all about proving preseason expectations wrong.
The ‘Cuse earned a bye week following its pair of victories at Penn State’s Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational, but closed out the month of September at Princeton’s Meadows Challenge. Syracuse tried to end the month the same way it started, but it just couldn’t pull through in its toughest field of competition yet.
At 9:30, the highly-touted men’s side put its new top-10 ranking to the test against an equally strong Alabama team. The Crimson Tide just came in at No. 4 in the latest NCAA Coaches’ Poll, and Alabama showed that with a first-place finish in New Jersey. The ‘Cuse were able to claim second with an average time of 23:17.2 and two runners inside of the top 10, but Alabama had four in the top 11.
Although the Syracuse men fell to a top-five squad to close out its first month of action in the 2026/27 season, The Orange should still keep their recent No. 9 ranking. SU moved up from 13th preseason and only fell behind a team five slots higher.
After the men’s 8K finished, the women’s 6k started immediately after.
Syracuse didn’t race a single upperclassmen, but still earned a fifth-place finish in a loaded field. The Orange were one of three ACC squads at the race, finishing above the Demon Deacons but just below the fourth-place Blue Devils.
SU finished with an average time of 20:40.6, and that mark was heavily buoyed by sophomore Kiera Rogan’s seventh-place finish. After winning the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational two weeks ago, she was the first runner in the ‘Cuse’s conference to cross the finish line.
For a group full of freshmen and sophomore runners, Syracuse still continues to prove its preseason ranking wrong. And after racing against other power-program squads, maybe the national circuits will start to take notice.
The first month is in the books for Syracuse cross country: both squads head into October with a 2-1 record. But the Orange’s next opportunity to shine is on October 16th, after two consecutive weekends off. SU found its groove in the month of September, but it cannot not let the rest turn into rust.
Syracuse cross country is off to a strong start. To see how the rest of its 2026/27 slate unfolds, make sure to stay tuned on my X account @Jack_On_Sports.
