For the Syracuse men’s and women’s cross country teams, this season has the potential to be a special one.

The men and women hold top rankings in program history, at No. 14 and No. 10, respectively, are getting national respect and have high hopes of finishing the season in the Top 10 at Nationals.

But before the potential can turn into reality, the Orange will have a chance to look into its future.

Though the season is seven weeks old, a different crop of runners will don the Orange and Blue at the John Reif Memorial in Ithaca, N.Y., on Friday.

‘The Cornell meet is a good meet for our young kids to learn,’ SU head coach Chris Fox said. ‘These are the runners we expect to help us in the future.’

As the season moves along, the top men and women runners race every other week. With the conclusion of Pre-Nationals last week and the Big East Championships looming in the near future, top runners will stay on campus this weekend to prepare, while future runners will get the opportunity to show what they have.

Some of the men competing are Michael Brocks, Pat Geoghegan and Nat Saviet. For the women, Lynne Mundy, Ari Kasprowicz and Lisa Giacometti will have the chance to race.

‘It is a great opportunity for some of the guys who won’t be on the Big East team to run this weekend,’ said Jeff Scull, a veteran runner. ‘It is a great chance for other runners to step up and prove themselves.’

Runners only have one optional day of practice a week, and thus the monotony of running against the same teammates every day can get tiresome.

As a result, both the men and women who will compete this weekend will take full advantage of it.

‘It is really all about improving,’ said sophomore Heather Stephens, who will not make the trip to Ithaca this weekend. ‘The group running will be excited to compete against other teams and will just use it to get better.’

Though the top SU runners will stay home, it is certainly not a time to relax.

The Orange will continue to train hard the rest of the week, including an especially rigorous practice on Friday, before tapering off during the days leading up to the Big East Championships on Halloween.

‘This week is real high intensity,’ Scull said. ‘We have conference to get ready for so training will be real solid leading up to it.’

Having two weeks to practice will provide runners with the opportunity to zone in on things they need to improve upon.

‘I know with all the practice time, I will target some of my weaknesses and really focus on things I feel I can improve upon,’ Stephens said. ‘I really want to focus all week on the end of the workout and maintaining my strength.’

In addition to extra practice, top runners will use the off week to catch up on sleep and schoolwork.

However, the Big East Championships will be foremost on their minds.

The SU men have never had a top-three finish at championships, which features top teams such as Georgetown, Providence, Louisville and Villanova,

On the women’s side, Villanova is ranked No. 2 in the country, West Virginia is ranked No. 4 and Georgetown is No. 9.

Competition at conference championships will likely be a challenge.

‘If the men capture third, that is a big deal for us,’ Fox said. ‘For the women, if we finish fourth, then we will have done well. If we happen to steal third, that means we beat really, really good people and would be great.’

But for the time being, top runners will continue to train, while a crop of new faces will represent Syracuse on Friday.

However, the temptation to look ahead is tough to resist.

‘Big East Championships, next to Nationals, that is the big one on the schedule,’ Scull said. ‘This is what we have been talking about for the past three years, and it is finally happening, so it is going to be real exciting.’

restern@syr.edu