SYRACUSE -- The Syracuse University men’s cross country team moved up two spots to No. 9 in the national rankings this week in the Pre-National USTFCCCA polls. The ranking is the highest in program history, improving on the No. 11 spot the squad attained earlier this season.

In their most recent race, the men won the NCAA Northeast Regional championship, marking the first Regional title for the men in school history. Sophomore Pat Dupont led SU with a time of 31:09, placing fifth overall. He also clocked the team’s best time at the BIG EAST Championship, propelling the squad to its first-ever conference title.

On the women’s side, the Orange is currently No. 12 in the nation according to the latest polls. The women’s squad also took home its first NCAA Northeast championship on Saturday. Junior Katie Hursey led SU with a time of 21:57 and placed first overall, becoming the school’s first individual women's champion. Hursey, who has posted the team’s best time in four of the five races she has participated in this season, also crossed the finish line first for the Orange at the BIG EAST Championship, propelling the team to its highest conference finish in program history.

Also, eleven Orange runners have been named to the 2009 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Northeast All-Region Team. Syracuse boasts the most All-Region selections in the Northeast after both teams made history and won the NCAA Northeast Regional championship.

Representing the women are sophomores Lauren Penney and Natalie Busby, juniors Katie Hursey and Catherine Desarle, and senior Maegan Krifchin. Hursey was the first runner to cross the finish line at the NCAA Northeast Regional championships with a time of 21:57, becoming SU's first individual women's regional champion. She has clocked the team's best time in four of the past five races.

Desarle had the second-highest overall finish at Regionals, placing fourth with a time of 22:11. Penney placed eighth at the Colgate Invite for her highest finish of the season, and clocked in at 22:42 at Regionals for a 13th overall finish. Krifchin finished six seconds after Penney at the regional competition to place 19th. She finished with her best time of the season (17:38) at the Wisconsin adidias Invite. Busby claimed the 22nd spot at Regionals (22:55)

Six men are present on the All-Region team, including sophomores Pat Dupont, Griff Graves, Forrest Misenti, and Tito Medrano as well as seniors Jeff Scull and Brad Miller. Dupont has had a breakthrough year, finishing first on the team and fifth overall (31:09) at the NCAA Northeast Regional to capture the team's first regional championship in program history. He powered the men at the BIG EAST Championship, finishing fourth overall (24:51) to help win the team's first conference title in school history.

Scull has finished in the top 15 in every race he has competed in this season, including an eighth-place finish at Regionals (31:18). Graves finished first overall earlier this season at the Colgate Invitational with a time of 25:06 and placed 12th overall and third on the team at the NCAA Regionals (32:55). Misenti finished fourth at Regionals, clocking in at 31:23. He earned a season-high fifth place finish at Colgate, while Miller finished in his fastest time of the season (24:02) at the Wisconsin adidas Invite, which gave the unranked Orange a first-place victory. Medrano rounded out the top 25 at Regionals with a time of 31:55.

Both the Orange men and women will travel to Terre Haute, Ind. to compete in the NCAA Championships on Monday, November 23.

Courtesy: SU Athletics