Syracuse is ready to make one final good impression as it competes in its last regular-season meet, the John Reif Memorial at Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., on Friday. It will be the last meet the Orange competes in before its first appearance in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship.

Earlier in the season, the men’s team placed in the top three at almost every meet. After coming off of a three-week break, SU’s men finished eighth in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational last weekend in Madison, Wis. The team expected to perform better, assistant coach Adam Smith said.

“I thought the team ran very well as a group,” redshirt sophomore Juris Silenieks said, “we just need to get out a little faster so there isn’t much ground to cover at the end of the race.”

For the athletes who are not running in this weekend’s meet, their preparation for the championship season starts now. With the ACC Championship, NCAA Northeast Regionals and nationals coming up, the men are focused on two things: pacing and rest.

“The biggest thing is to rest and get your legs ready to run well in two weeks,” redshirt junior Andrew Palmer said.

Smith said the Orange is fortunate to have such a large group of talented runners. For the runners competing in the meet at the John Reif Memorial, preparation to improve in this weekend’s meet compared to last weekend’s is competitive. Some of the runners competing in this race could make other teams’ top seven.

Runners that are not guaranteed a spot in the championships are competing for a championship spot in the race in Ithaca. Head coach Chris Fox and associate head coach Brien Bell have put these runners through rigorous training for a chance to compete at championships.

“We have a spot or two in line for the conference championship, it will be competitive,” Smith said. “It will be a fun one in Cornell.”

Published on October 24, 2013 at 12:12 am