Syracuse Women's Cross Country Upholds Four-Year Winning Streak at Season Opener

By: Danielle Kennedy 

Syracuse Women kick off the 2014 Cross Country season (c) Danielle Kennedy

Rain, wind, and plunging temperatures held off until shortly after the race Saturday morning as the Syracuse University Women’s Cross Country team ran away from the Colgate Raiders to earn its first win of the season, upholding a four-year winning streak at The Harry Lang Invitational, hosted by Colgate University. This, even as head coach Chris Fox held his top runners out of the competition.

Led by redshirt Junior Angelica Peck, the Orange women scored a perfect 15 points against Colgate’s Raiders as they captured spots one through ten at the finish.  Peck finished the 4,200 meter course (2.61 miles) with a time of 16:30.50, followed by her redshirt sophomore teammate Emily Nist  with a time of 16:40.5.  Peck said a simple race strategy and competing against only one other team kept the pressure low and the runners relaxed.

“We went into the race really focusing on being a team,” she said. “We went through the first mile staying together as a pack and really running with each other. Once we hit the hill things spread out a little bit but we were really able to keep each other in it.”

Harry Lang Invitational 2014 (c) Danielle Kennedy

Leading the tight pack up front, Peck and Nist kept the race under control and helped guide four freshman through their first race as Syracuse Orange.

We were able to play off of each other and have confidence in each other,” Peck said. “I think that’s one of the most important things- knowing that your teammate is there for you and you are their for your teammate so that you can turnover and know that you’re teammate is right there with you, ready to do the same.”

5’10 freshman Stephanie Bitcon of Wayne, N.J. made her collegiate debut, finishing third with a time of 16:51.  Although Division I collegiate running requires a higher level of competition and expectations, Bitcon said she stuck to her pre-race routine of eating oatmeal for breakfast, something she refuses to change, regardless of the competition.  While the oats may have calmed some of her nerves, Bitcon said her teammates are what really helped her run well.

“It was nice that a lot of us are at very similar levels. I didn’t really have that in high school so it’s nice that there’s always someone from your team by you to help you and push you to go faster.”

With Colgate’s top-returner sitting out due to an injury, Sophomore Shannon Young stepped up as the top finisher for Colgate, crossing the line in eleventh place with a time of 17:58.

Shannon Young (So.) finishes first for Colgate and 11th overall (c) Danielle Kennedy

First-year coach Danielle Hunt said that she has high hopes for Young this fall.

“She’s come a long way,” Hunt said. ”She’s primarily an 800 (meter) runner on the track but I think she has a lot of propensity for the mile and the 3k as well as Cross Country.”

“She’s constantly challenging other people in workouts and she has a great mental toughness at the end of a race which is really awesome to see and she did everything I told her to do today.”

The Syracuse women have high expectations to meet, ranking as the No.1 team in the Northeast Region in the USTFCCCA Preseason Regional Rankings, which were released on August 26.  In the national polls, SU ranked No. 13.

Last fall, the women finished third at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships and 22nd at the NCAA Cross Country National Championship.

Harry Lang Invitational 2014 (c) Danielle Kennedy

With a championship seaso
n as the main focus, top returners including Jessie Petersen (Sr.), Maura Linde (R-Jr.), Margo Malone (Jr.), Meredith Speakman (Jr.), and Sydney Leiher (So.) were among the eleven women that did not compete Saturday.

Head Cross Country Coach Chris Fox said these women may even hold off from competing until the Boston Inter-Regional meet hosted by Boston College on Saturday, September 26.

As for Saturday’s performance, Fox said he is glad too see the freshman and some of the returners get back into racing mode.

“For one of a better term, it’s a rust buster. They get the nerves out. Even though it’s low-key, you put on a uniform and you feel different. Mostly it just settles them a little bit,” he said.

Both the Women’s and Men’s Cross Country Team will compete at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational at Penn State next Saturday, September 13.

The SU men also swept Colgate, taking the first eight spots in their event.