NCAA XC Countdown #8: Syracuse Men and William and Mary Women

Aug 23, 2013 by Isaac Wood

For the next few weeks, The Wood Report will be counting down projected team finishes in this year's NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, IN. Make sure to stay up-to-date with The Wood Report throughout the season. Feel free to follow him on Twitter, too.

View the full NCAA Top 31 Countdown HERE.

Syracuse

Head Coach: Chris Fox (9th Season)

2012 National Finish- 15th

Key Returners from 2012

Martin Hehir (So., 8:00 Open 3k, 13:53 5k, 29:35 10k)
Joe Whelan (Sr., 8:53 3k Steeple, 55th NCAAs '12)
Ryan Urie (Jr., 3:49 1500m, 14:29 5k)
Reed Kamyszek (Jr., 8:09 Open 3k, 14:25 5k, 29:45 10k)
Griff Graves (Sr., 14:18 5k, 71st NCAAs '12)
Robert Molke (Sr., 8:13 Open 3k, 14:13 5k, 29:35 10k)
Max Straneva (Jr., 8:22 Open 3k, 14:20 5k)
Andrew Palmer (Jr., 14:15 5k, 30:07 10k)
Dan Lennon (So., 2nd USATF Jr. 10k '13, 14:24 5k)

Impact Recruits/Transfers

Kevyn Hoyos (Redshirt Frosh, 4:12 1600m, 9:01 2 Mile, 6th US Jr. 5k '13)
Nick Ryan (Fr., 4:05 1600m, 8:55 3200m, 3 X NXN Qualifier- 15th '13, 5th '12, 28th '11)
Shawn Wilson (Fr., 4:11 1600m, 9:04 3200m, FL Finalist '12- 23rd)

Season Preview

For Syracuse and Coach Chris Fox, this could be the year. With the horde of talented athletes that are returning from 2012s Big East Championships winning team and a good recruiting class, the Orange might finally break the curse of finishing somewhere around 15th at NCAAs every single year.

After pulling a few string with the NCAA and some very good returners, Syracuse has 10 guys that could find themselves in their top seven at any point during the season.

The Orange's no. 1 returner, although just a freshman last year, is Martin Hehir. Coming out of no where and winning the Big East individual title as a freshman, Hehir is now an experienced and accomplished athlete that is ready to tack on All-American to his list of accolades. Running 13:53 for 5k on the track this past spring is a good indication of his progression. Hehir is a top-40, if not better, caliber talent and will be a critical low-stick for Syracuse.

Joe Whelan is actually the no. 1 returner from NCAAs (Hehir was for the majority of the year though) in Louisville last year. After a sub-par track season, Whelan will be looking to get back to his fitness from 2012 and find himself pushing Hehir up front.

Griff Graves was able to get a medical redshirt year back and makes Syracuse that much better with him in the top five. Graves was a vital scorer for the Orange throughout his career and if fit, he is also a guy that is capable of pushing Hehir and Whelan in the front of the pack.

There are a slew of quality athletes that return for Coach Fox and that will be battling it out for a spot in the top seven throughout the season. Andrew Palmer is generally very good early on in the season, but needs to find a way to keep the wheels from coming off. His 59th place finish at Wisco Invite in 2012 is solid, but 210th at NCAAs is pretty mediocre. He is a talented athlete that if he can keep it together during the championship portion of the season, Palmer will be an important piece to the puzzle.

Robert Molke, MJ Erb, Reed Kamyszek and Ryan Urie all have some pretty good track PRs from various times of the career at Syracuse. Most of these guys seem to be pure distance/xc guys that will be icing on the cake for Coach Fox if they are able to find a place for themselves in the top seven at some point during the season. Dan Lennon is currently getting ready to represent the United States at the Pan-Am 10k. If he can get fit in time (maybe redshirt though) that kind of big-level experience really broadens the horizons of many athletes. Lennon is another possible scorer for the Orange in 2013.

Beyond the returners from 2012, Chris Fox and Brian Bell have done a great job recruiting the past few years and have some good young talent coming into Syracuse. Nick Ryan, Kevyn Hoyos and Shawn Wilson all are very talented athletes from the prep ranks. Nick Ryan is a three time NXN finalist and finished top-30 all three of those years. Ryan has the best track PRs of the bunch and is capable of placing top 75 at NCAAs if he can stay healthy, fit and enthused about running.

Kevyn Hoyos has had quality experience running at the national junior level in cross country and on the track. Shawn Wilson is a Foot Locker finalist and might redshirt, but if not he is another harrier to throw in the mix of runners looking to crack the top seven or even the travel squad (Syracuse is so deep).

The Northeast Regional looks to be all but theirs in 2013. Columbia and Iona are talented, but on paper, Syracuse is the class of the region. If Fox can time things right and cruise through the regional, Syracuse could be looking at a top-10 finish for the first time, in a long time.

William and Mary

Head Coach: Jill Miller (2nd Season)

2012 National Finish- 21st

Key Returners from 2012

Elaina Balouris (Sr., 9:34 Open 3k, 16:03 5k, 33:43 10k)
Emily Stites (So., 9:34 Open 3k, 15:45 5k, 34:15 10k)
Dylan Hassett (Jr., 9:42 Open 3k, 16:41 5k, 34:54 10k)
Carolyn Hennessey (So., 16:51 5k)
Meghan McGovern (So., 9:44 Open 3k, 16:34 5k)

Season Preview

Contrary to many of the teams that have been previewed recently, William and Mary is a team with five very talented girls, but not nearly as good of depth. Coach Jill Miller, along side Coach Stephen Walsh, have done a great job finding and recruiting talented athletes, but also being able to catch the diamonds in the rough.

As this team moves forward from its solid and much improved 2012 season where they finished 21st at NCAAs, they have one of the best 1-5s in the country and are prepared to greatly improve upon last season's succcesses.

William and Mary has one of the best 1-2 punches in the country with Elaina Balouris and Emily Stites coming back off of two All-American seasons in 2012. Frankly, had they not been as good as they were last season William and Mary would have been looking at a 25th place finish or worse. The Tribe depends greatly on their abilities and sink or swim with their performances.

Elaina Balouris is about as pure of a cross country runner as there is in the NCAA. Balouris has the track chops for 10k and the proven ability on the course to put her in the mix of a top-10 finisher at NCAAs. Knowing that her low-stick is vital to this team's success, Balouris is definitely a sleeper from an individual finisher perspective. She could creep up on some athletes at the finish at NCAAs and put herself in contention for the top-10 if not better.

Emily Stites is one of the most talented sophomores in the NCAA. Along with Laura Hollander (Cal Poly), Sarah Collins (Providence) and Kelsey Lakowske (Duke), Stites is as solid as they come, coming off of her freshman campaign. Some quality world-class racing experience this past winter will help open her eyes to what she is capable of this upcoming fall. Stites is definitely as good as Balouris in cross, with a little bit better speed, she will be dangerous come November.

William and Mary has three other girls that are very solid 3-5 runners. All have stepped up since their cross country season in 2012, this spring on the track, and their improvement there should produce quality times in cross country.

Dylan Hassett ran a solid 10k on the track and is a good pack runner. Meghan McGovern also had a good year on the track and will be battling Hassett for the no. 3 slot for the Tribe. McGovern has some upside and if her progression continues she is a top-60 quality girl at NCAAs.

William and Mary does not have the luxury of having a deep team as some of the schools from the power conferences. On the other hand, they have some very talented athletes that are capable of bringing them into the top-10. As mentioned before, William and Mary goes as Stites and Balouris go. If they have a great year, which they should, and McGovern and Hassett find themselves having break-out years, the Tribe will have one of the best teams in their program history in 2013