Spring Break
The Daily OrangeXC | Syracuse emerges from stacked field with positive results
By McGhee Cost
Posted: 10/1/07, 9:54 PM EST Section: Sports
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Led by juniors Jeff Scull and Nana Sang-Bender (placing eighth and 14th in their respective races), the Orange captured a second-place finish in the men's competition, and a sixth-place finish in women's.
"We're satisfied with the results," said SU head coach Chris Fox. "We're pleased, but there's still more to do, and this team has more to show."
Fox's team utilized a mixture of veteran leadership from Scull and Sang-Bender and an encouraging input from its young runners to make the event a successful one.
It's no surprise that the team is optimistic after this weekend's action. There was stiff competition for the men's team at the meet, including regional powerhouse No. 4 Iona, No. 27 Princeton and the meet champions, Villanova. With the exception of the Wildcats, the men's team managed to handily dispatch the rest of the pack on its way to the second-place ranking.
The women's team also faced a tough road, having to deal with No. 13 Princeton and the tough challenge presented by teams such as No. 23 Texas Tech and West Virginia. Despite finishing so well in a field of 47 teams, Fox said the women's team has quite a bit of room to improve.
"On the women's side, we were almost great," Fox said. "All of the kids ran well, though. They definitely had a good meet."
The team's performance wasn't exactly what the coaching staff was expecting, but the women got a huge boost from some of the new faces on the team.
"Maegan Krifchin and Kathleen Hursey both ran very well," Fox said of two of his youngest competitors.
Krifchin finished in 34th and Hursey placed in 41st in a field of 317 runners.
The men's team also experienced a lift from young runners. In addition to Scull, Syracuse placed sophomores Dan Busby and Brad Miller inside the top 20. Freshman Stephen Murdock also finished well, placing 27th out of 268 runners in his first meet at the collegiate level.
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