Conor Stack
Sep 5, 20204 min
We are aware that certain conferences and universities will not be competing this fall due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19. However, for the sake of content, we have constructed these rankings as if a regular cross country season will happen.
Like many of our featured Top 25 teams, the Syracuse Orange have a tendency to always be in the mix and always bring together a string of top-tier men year after year.
After an inconsistent and turbulent 2019 cross country season, the Orange could have emerged as a top-10 team in a year where everything is normal. With Aidan Tooker finally back and ready to reestablish himself as the team's top scoring option, the Orange looked primed and dangerous going into 2020.
A roller coaster ride is the best way to describe the Syracuse men and their 2019 cross country season. They dominated the Battle in Beantown, but were simply bad at Nuttycombe and didn't even have Aidan Tooker in that race (he was ultimately sidelined for the rest of the year). The Orange later came out of nowhere to win the ACC title, but after cruising through their regional meet, they finished 27th at the NCAA Championships.
Although it did not look ideal on paper, the Orange had a lot of positives to take away from the national meet and their 2019 season as a whole. The team returns six of their top seven from last year's championship lineup and that doesn't even include star low-stick Aidan Tooker. On top of that, the Orange have also brought in a talented transfer in JP Trojan from William & Mary this offseason.
Outside of the ACC Championships, last year wasn't a great cross country season for the Syracuse men. However, on paper, they could have been one of the most dangerous teams in the nation during the now-defunct 2020 cross country season.
The return of Aidan Tooker would have brought a whole new dynamic to this team in 2020. Tooker was one of the most highly-touted recruits in the nation when he first began his college career at Syracuse in 2016 and quickly emerged as a top-tier low-stick for his team.
Set back by injuries, Tooker has rarely had the opportunity to race consistently and build a strong base of results. He does, however, have plenty of highlights.
At the 2017 Nuttycombe Invitational, Tooker was able to finish 10th overall and was the #2 scorer for Syracuse as just a sophomore.
The following year, in the Pre-Nationals White race, Tooker placed 2nd overall in a tight battle with BYU great Rory Linkletter. In the process, he was able to take down names such as Conner Mantz, Clayson Shumway, Emmanuel Cheboson and Tibebu Proctor.
During a normal cross country season where he's 100% healthy, Tooker would have undoubtedly made a huge impact on this 2020 Syracuse team and could have easily been an All-American candidate.
But Tooker may not be the only front-runner on this team whenever Syracuse returns to competition. Despite a tough race at last year's national meet, Joe Dragon was a quality (albeit, inconsistent) scorer for the Orange throughout last fall. He finished 4th at the Battle in Beantown and was 10th at the ACC Championships. He later ran 13:59 for 5000 meters during the indoor track season.
Then we have JP Trojan, the William & Mary product who will be finishing his eligibility with the Orange. He had a massive breakout track season this past winter, recording new personal bests of 8:03 (3k) and 13:48 (5k) at the IC4A Championships.
He didn't always face the best competition during the cross country season, but if he's able to translate his success from the track to the grass, then the Syracuse men could be a serious problem for their conference rivals whenever they next race.
And how about Nathan Henderson? He was 9th at the ACC Championships and was the team's top scorer at the National Championships with an 82nd place finish. He has made some promising development as of late and could be a top scorer moving forward.
When you tack on young, rising distance talents like Noah Beveridge, Matthew Scrape and Nathan Lawler -- as well as current senior Dominic Hockenbury -- you find that this team has a uniquely perfect balance of firepower and depth.
However, we still have more questions than answers for this team coming into the 2020 cross country season.
Can Tooker stay healthy for an entire season whenever competition returns? Can Trojan translate his success on the track to the grass? Will this team as a whole be able to avoid the inconsistency that we saw from them last year? Can this group get over the hump at the National Championships and record a top finish?
After a difficult 2019 cross country season, it was hard for us to place Syracuse much higher in these rankings. Still, they have more potential than most teams we have spoken about and that alone could elevate them towards being one of the top varsity squads in the nation.
Whenever competition returns, Syracuse will be one of the teams that we are the most eager to watch.