Hehir starts strong for Syracuse in move to ACC

The transition from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference hasn’t led to any struggles for sophomore Martin Hehir. Placing in the top three of his past two races, Hehir is proving to be one of the top runners for Syracuse this season.

As a freshman, Hehir was a key runner in helping the Orange advance to the Big East and the NCAA championships. For his first race, the Toledo Regional, Hehir was a star, placing second with a time of 19:07. In the Big East championship that season, he claimed first place to become the first SU runner to earn the individual Big East title.

“Martin is always one of those guys who’s out front for the team,” junior Reed Kamyszek said. “He always approaches the race with a good mindset.”

Coming off of a standout during his freshman year, Hehir has lofty expectations in a new conference. Hehir has shown that he is prepared for the ACC with two third-place finishes — in the Harry Lang Invitational and the Boston College Invitational — already in this season.

“He should be running well,” head coach Chris Fox said. “We expect more from him as the season goes on.”

Hehir has already been named his new conference’s performer of the week, taking the honors last week.

“It’s always cool to get a conference accomplishment,” Hehir said. “It’s nice to get recognized.”

With several wins under their belt, Hehir and the Orange are more confident in getting to nationals this season. With the next race not until Oct. 19, Syracuse is going to have tough training sessions with a focus on increasing its speed for the more challenging races ahead in the schedule.

“This next block is our last push,” Hehir said. “It’s kind of the last big push before we start to focus on running faster and running well enough to go to the championships.”

Hehir’s early victories did not come to a surprise to many of the teammates. Kamyszek said that Martin is almost always in the front of the pack and leading the Orange to the finish line.

“He does not make many mistakes in races,” Fox said. “He loves to race and that is important.”