Syracuse cross country season preview: National pressure, players to watch
After finishing inside the top 20 nationally in 2024, Syracuse cross country looks to carry that momentum into 2025. Lars Jendruschewitz | Senior Staff Photographer
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After both its men’s and women’s teams placed top-20 nationally last season, Syracuse cross country begins its 2025 campaign Saturday at the Harry Lang Invitational in Hamilton, New York. The national polls ranked the men’s squad No. 1 in the Northeast Region and No. 12, while the women ranked fourth and 29th, respectively.
To open 2024, the men’s team was ranked 22nd in the nation, and the women’s squad opened at No. 29. Both teams improved their rankings last season, with the men finishing in 11th and the women in 20th, and they’ll look for similar results this time around.
Schedule breakdown
The Orange open their season competing in the Harry Lang Invitational, which they swept last year. Both the men’s and women’s teams saw their top-five finishes total 15 points, while the runner-ups scored 50 and 77. Redshirt junior Julian Franjieh will look to defend his title in the men’s race. Meanwhile, sophomores Jayden Harberts and Grace Finnegan anchor a young women’s core hoping to replace lost production from last year’s graduates.
On Sept. 12, SU will compete in the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational hosted by Penn State. It’ll travel to Columbia, Missouri, on Sept. 26 for the Gans Creek Classic to face a Missouri men’s team that received eight votes in the preseason poll.
On Oct. 3, Syracuse will be in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the Paul Short Run’s 51st rendition before the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin and the Princeton Fall Classic in New Jersey take place on Oct. 17. The national polls ranked Wisconsin men’s team fifth, and the women’s 19th to start the year. The Princeton men’s team sits 19th in their respective poll. A week later, the Orange will complete their regular season in the John Reif Memorial hosted by central New York foe Cornell.
SU’s men’s and women’s teams look to improve from last year’s fifth and eighth place finishes at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Oct. 31 in Louisville, Kentucky. Then, the NCAA Northeast Regionals take place on Nov. 14 in New Hampshire. The men won last year’s event, and the women placed second. The Orange search for their 17th consecutive men’s NCAA Championships appearance and fifth straight for the women in Columbia, Missouri, on Nov. 22.
The Syracuse men’s cross country team competes against Manhattan and Colgate in 2024. The Orange enter the season ranked No. 1 in the Northeast Region and No. 12 nationally in the 2025 preseason polls. Lars Jendruschewitz | Senior Staff Photographer
Players to watch
Sam Lawler
Sam Lawler, a redshirt senior from Pittsford — located just over an hour from SU — was the runner-up in the regional championships and earned All-ACC honors in 2024. He is Syracuse’s top returner on the men’s team, placing 10th in the ACC Championships.
Benne Anderson
Benne Anderson had a stellar redshirt freshman year, finishing eighth in the regionals and competed in the ACC Championships. With a full year of experience under his belt, he’ll join Harberts and Finnegan in leading the young group.
Jayden Harberts
As a freshman, who is now a sophomore, Harberts competed in the 6K at the NCAA and ACC Championships. She finished third in last year’s Colgate Harry Lang Invitational, her first race as a collegiate athlete and placed 18th at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational.
