Syracuse XC: GTKYOR- Margo Malone and Martin Hehir

With the Nationally ranked Syracuse Orange Men's and Women's Cross-Country teams preparing for the 2015 season, I decided to take a page from our wildly successful "Get To Know Your Orange" series. Helping me out will be former Orange runners Jessie Petersen and Max Straneva, who will give us some insight on their former teammates.

Starting off today will be the top returning runners: Margo Malone and Martin Hehir. Malone and Hehir are coming off of All-American track campaigns and will be looked to lead the Orange harriers in 2015.

Name: Margo Malone

Year: Senior

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

High School: North Hills

2014 Results :

NCAA Championships- 63rd place (20:58.3 for 6k)

NCAA Northeast Regional- 5th place (20:19.57 for 6k)

ACC Championships- 3rd place (20:01.6 for 6k)

Wisconsin Meet of Champions- 23rd place (20:25 for 8k)

Coast-to-Coast Battle- 16th place (17:25 for 5k)

Jess Says: "Margo Malone will be the leader, powerhouse of this squad. I have no doubt that she will be an all-american."

Kevin's 2015 Preview: Margo will be looking to finish her Syracuse XC career on a high note this Fall. Her 1st Team All-American/ACC 10K Championship outdoor season should give her plenty of momentum, as well as the knowledge that she can run with the best distance runners in the country. Margo's had some of her best performances at ACC Championships and will be a contender for the individual title this year. Also look for her to break through to the next level at the NCAA Championships in her final season.

Name: Martin Hehir

Year: Graduate Student

Hometown: Washingtonville, NY

High School: Washingtonville

2014 Results :

NCAA Championships- 38th place (30:54.7 for 10k) USTFCCCA All-American

NCAA Northeast Regional- 6th place (30:36:12 for 10k)

ACC Championships- 1st place in a new Panorama Farms 8k course record time of 23:15.2

Wisconsin Meet of Champions- 7th place (23:55 for 8k)

Coast-to-Coast Battle- 4th place (24:31 for 8k)

Max's Thoughts: "If it was not already Martin's team last year, it certainly is this year. He is the leader of the squad, and the team is in great hands. Martin has already accomplished so much at SU, but I know he is chomping at the bit to get into some big XC races and show how good of a runner he truly is."

Kevin's 2015 Preview: While it's not easy to expect much more from last year's ACC Individual Performer of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, I think that Martin has yet to run his best race at the NCAA meet, and I'd expect he will deliver in 2015. Having won individual XC titles in the Big East and ACC, I believe Martin's ultimate goal for this season isn't individual success, but rather to lead the Orange to the podium at the NCAA Championships. It's hard to compare eras, but he's the most accomplished distance runner in Syracuse history and I believe that driving the Orange to a top finish at NCAA's will cement his legacy.

Syracuse begins their season on September 5th at Colgate's Harry Lang Invitational. Stay tuned to the Nunes Magician Track/XC Hub this Fall for more GTKYOR features, and full coverage of the 2015 cross-country season.