Syracuse men’s cross country completes its perfect Friday with victory at Princeton Invitational
By: Jack Knight | @Jack_On_Sports
On Tuesday, Syracuse men’s cross country was ranked eighth overall by the NCAA Coaches’ Poll. Despite placing fifth before a lengthy bye that spanned over three weeks long, the Orange were selected as the top team in the ACC. Fast forward three days later, SU had an opportunity to further prove its place in the top 10.
The work started earlier in the morning as the ‘Cuse’s top runners competed in Terre Haute’s NCAA Pre-Nationals. The Orange faced three other ranked teams, two of them in the top 15 with Notre Dame and Villanova. And none of that rattled SU: it came away with a 115-127 victory over the second-place Wildcats.
And with that momentum in their sails, the Orange and their younger talent took on the Princeton Invitational. They went to Princeton University just before the extended break in late-September for the Meadows Challenge, but returned to face a much lighter field. This time around, there was only one other ranked team besides eighth-ranked SU (Princeton, No. 24).
Despite only racing a single upperclassmen, the ‘Cuse cruised to victory.
The Orange finished with 39 points, besting a second-place William & Mary squad by over 40 points. SU’s depth flexed its muscles similar to earlier this morning, but the ‘Cuse took control of the top 10 as sophomore Drew Zundell placed second at 24:10.2 and Sam Ricchiuti finished fifth at 24:16.3. Syracuse only sent six runners to Princeton, and five of them finished inside of the top 15.
This SU victory wasn’t even close. The Orange notched an over-20 second spread from their opponents and an average time of 24:20.5. Even though SU wasn’t necessarily facing high-level competition, its younger players got valuable experience and proved that they can be thrust into situations when called upon.
And while they didn’t receive a team score due to sending just four runners, three SU women runners placed inside of the top 75 in a 6k bout.
Both Syracuse’s men’s and women’s teams are back in action next Friday at Ithaca’s John Reif Memorial. But until then, make sure to follow @Jack_On_Sports on X for everything SU cross country.
