Syracuse women’s cross-country looks to qualify for NCAAs with strong finish at Northeast Regional

The Syracuse women’s cross-country team looked exhausted and discombobulated at the Atlantic Coast Conference championships on Oct. 31 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The team finished eighth and its bid for the NCAA championship race no longer looked secure.

“They had a really, really bad day,” said SU head coach Chris Fox in a telephone interview after the race.

The ACCs were the second consecutive race in which the women’s squad ran poorly, dating back to Oct. 17 when they finished No. 12 in Wisconsin’s Meet of Champions.

But the women’s team will have another chance when it races Friday in the Bronx, New York, at the NCAA Northeast Regional. SU hopes to get back in stride as the pressure mounts to make the NCAA championships. The upperclassmen leaders are managing the pressure while preparing the team with its season-long strategy in what will be the biggest race of their year so far.

A victory would automatically qualify the Orange for the NCAA championships, but Fox is confident that a top-five finish would also squeeze SU’s women’s team into the national field.

The men’s cross-country team won the ACC championship and has not officially clinched a bid for nationals, but it’d be difficult to not receive a bid. There’s pressure on the men to do well at this race, Fox said, but not nearly as much as there is on the women, who will be without junior Beth Wright this Friday due to injury.

Steadying, soothing confidence comes from senior Jessie Petersen.

“We haven’t shown it the past two races, but we can compete with anyone,” Petersen said. “And I expect this team to take us (to nationals).”

Junior Maura Linde is a leader for the women and said one of the biggest factors in calming everyone before the race is to keep a positive attitude during workouts. That, along with making herself accessible, is how upperclassmen ease worries of the runners unaccustomed to these pressures.

“At this point when I was a freshman, I was freaking out,” Petersen said. “I’m calm now because of my experience. (The upperclassmen) help keep people calm.”

The help extends to practice as well as the race itself as the Orange plans to run this race with the same strategy it’s used all season.

Margo Malone runs farthest ahead, then Petersen and sophomore Sydney Leiher work in tandem. A small group comprised of Linde, Haley Cutright and Rebecca Skodis run just behind Petersen and Leiher.

The women employ a chain, which allows for communication and encouragement amongst the runners.

The chain broke in the ACC championship as Leiher, who Fox called the “fulcrum,” battled dehydration. She finished 72nd when Fox expected her to finish in the top 20.

Because a spot in nationals is on the line, practices have decreased in intensity throughout the week and the upperclassmen ensure no one tries to do too much.

“We need to rest up,” Linde said. “You can’t get any better three days before, all the training is done.”

Thursday night before the race, the girls have a team dinner to relax. Petersen says they try to steer conversation to anything but the race and its pressures.

Two minutes before the gunfires to signal the start of the race, the team huddles in a pack at the starting line. Petersen usually jumps in the middle, yelling to fire up the team.

With points garnered from the regular season, Fox believes that the women will qualify for the NCAA championships if they finish No. 5 at the Northeast Regional meet.

“But they should be — they are — better than that,” Fox said.

If the women win the race, they will receive an automatic bid, ensuring their spot in the NCAA championships.

But with anything lower, doubts remain.

“We’ll probably be OK for nationals if we finish second,” Petersen said. “But anything other than a win will be disappointing.”