Syracuse men’s cross country ranked No. 3 in preseason poll

The Syracuse men’s cross country team was ranked third in the first United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association preseason poll.

Seniors Justyn Knight and Colin Bennie lead the SU squad to its top three ranking. Knight finished second in last year’s NCAA Championship and is coming off a summer in which he finished ninth in the IAAF World Championships 5000-meter final. Bennie finished 17th at last year’s NCAA Championship.

The Orange won the NCAA Championship in 2015 and finished third last season. The preseason top three mirrors the results of last year’s NCAA Championship, with Stanford No. 2 and Northern Arizona No. 1.