When the Syracuse cross country bus arrives in Boston on Saturday to compete in the NCAA Northeast Regional, junior runner Rebekah MacKay will feel right at home.

MacKay, a native of Whitinsville, Mass., ran on the regional course as a high school standout at Whitinsville Christian. Hosted by Boston University, the meet will take place at Franklin Park, a site MacKay is more than comfortable with.

‘We raced there in high school, and it is really my home turf,’ MacKay said. ‘It definitely adds extra excitement for me. Usually, my dad will be at one meet and my mom at another, but this weekend everyone will be there. It will be extra fun.’

The terrain, however, is about all that will feel familiar.

The SU women enter Regionals as the favorites. Ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 10 in the country by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, the Orange has earned the right to head into the weekend as the squad to beat.

Last year, SU had to finish first or second at Regionals in order to make Nationals. It finished second and headed to Terre Haute, Ind., for the first time in program history.

However, the 2009 season has been a season of firsts for the team. On Sept. 25, the team was ranked No. 23 in the nation, a program best for the Orange. After finishing second against the nation’s top teams at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational and capturing fourth place at Pre-Nationals, the women jumped to No. 10 in the polls.

They are ranked the highest they have ever been and now head into Regionals with much less at stake.

‘For us, with the season we have been having, we could not do as well as we want and still go to Nationals,’ senior runner, Maegan Krifchin said. ‘It is pretty much a given that we are going to go to Nationals, whereas last year, nothing was definite.’

Krifchin has seen signs of the team’s new reputation ever since the meet at Wisconsin. Now, she said, the ‘track world’ is not surprised by Syracuse and expects it to perform well.

She has heard other coaches say they think the SU women would not be surprised if they win. And while Krifchin prefers to ignore all the talk, some is hard to escape.

‘I don’t pay much attention to that stuff, but I have seen some blogs and they are mentioning us and talking about us a lot more than last year,’ Krifchin said. ‘This year, everyone is like, ‘Oh, Syracuse is there and they are in it to win it.’ They expect things from us for a change.’

However, the team’s new role creates a bit of a contradiction.

While the players certainly do not feel the do-or-die type of pressure that teams experience when their backs are against the wall, the squad now has a new pressure that goes along with being the favorites.

The Orange knows it doesn’t have to run a flawless race in Boston to punch its ticket to Terre Haute, but expectations will still be high.

‘Last year, we were on the outside looking in, and this year, for better or for worse, we are the favorites,’ SU head coach Chris Fox said. ‘It is different this year and they have some pressure on them this year that they didn’t have last year. It is a different game. They are going in with a target on their backs.’

It is that target that Providence will certainly be chasing on Saturday. After falling to the Orange at the Big East conference championship two weeks ago, the Friars – ranked No. 2 in the region – hope to come out on top. Fox also noted Boston College and Harvard will be tough to beat.

So while SU knows its season is not riding on Regionals, the competitive spirit is more than present.

‘We are the top dogs this year,’ MacKay said. ‘We still expect to win Regionals, but it is a lot more fun knowing we are training for Nationals. Last year we were told to take it as an experience and relax, but this year it is like, OK, let’s win Regionals and then kick people’s butts at Nationals.’

restern@syr.edu