SU cross country sweeps season-opening race at Harry Lang Invitational
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Syracuse cross country opened its season with a sweep at the Harry Lang Invitational at Colgate Saturday against Colgate and Le Moyne. The Orange had a flawless men’s performance and a near-perfect women’s output.
The women’s team rolled in the morning, claiming first, second, fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth-place finishes with 19 points, well ahead of Colgate (42) and Le Moyne (74).
Sophomore Mackenzie Cook took first with a time of 18:06.2 on the 5K course. Last season, Cook finished in 19:04.2, 10th place in the event, which SU has raced in 15 times in the last 16 years. Cook dropped a full minute from last year.
She finished 7.9 seconds ahead of Syracuse’s second-place finisher, junior Alycia Hart. Fourth was freshman Natalie Fouts in her first-ever collegiate race, and she posted a time of 18:17.9. The Plain City, Ohio, native missed out on third place by 0.9 seconds behind Colgate’s Eleanor Droege.
Junior Iowa State transfer Josie Baker followed in fifth (18:18.6), then sophomore Brielle McClarnon took seventh (18:33.7) and junior Sarah Lawson (19:01.7) rounded the Orange’s runners in ninth.
The men’s side replicated its performance from last year at the event, sweeping the 6K and extending its winning streak at the meet to 10 years. Syracuse notched an immaculate 15 points while the Raiders (43) and Dolphins (70) trailed behind and lived up to its first-place Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Poll ranking.
Freshman Charles Guerrera, in his Orange debut, placed first with a time of 18:44.9. Guerrera defeated last year’s champion, sophomore Asher Danielson, by 3.6 seconds. Guerrera and Danielson were followed by freshmen Andrew Walton (19:13.7), Clay Stevens (19:16.7) and Xavier Richardson (19:18.1) in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Syracuse’s sweep was encouraging ahead of its trip to Penn State for the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 11 as part of its demanding schedule.
