That Robbie Cary would be considered a leader on the Syracuse cross country team would seem unlikely. Cary did not start running cross country until his senior year in high school, and came to Syracuse as a walk-on.

‘I had done some 5K road races earlier in high school and I had done pretty well, so I figured I would see what I could do (in cross-country),’ Cary said.

Now, four years later, the SU senior has progressed into a prominent contributor on a nationally ranked men’s cross country squad. A runner whose experience and attitude have helped him become a leader for SU.

‘Robbie’s made a lot of progress since he got here,’ said SU head coach Chris Fox. ‘He’s done exceptionally well to improve over the past four years and give us a lot of help, especially for someone who wasn’t that heralded out of high school.’

Cary made good use of his one high school cross country season. That year, he impressed his coaches enough that he was named team captain, and he subsequently did so well he was named team MVP at season’s end.

A local product from Nottingham High School, Cary was not even sold on coming to Syracuse.

Cary’s parents attended Syracuse and met there, and his great grandfather ran cross country for the Orange, but he said that played no part in his decision to come to SU.

‘Coming from the area, I almost wanted to get away and get out of Syracuse,’ Cary said. ‘But you never know how great the college is … (The family history) isn’t really something I thought about a lot growing up or even when I was choosing which college to go to.’

Cary got off to a fast start in his freshman year at SU. He placed fifth in the 3,000 meter (3K, or just less than 2 miles) Upstate Challenge run with a time of 9:17.55.

Sophomore year was no different. Cary built on his success from the previous year, finishing seventh in the 6K Harry Lang Invitational and 15th in the 8K John Reif Memorial race.

Cary’s junior cross country season was perhaps his best, but he had to work hard to get there.

‘It’s funny because Robbie came into (his junior) season looking like a professional wrestler,’ Fox said. ‘But he worked really hard and when he got into the shape he needed to be in, he really helped us.’

When the season was all said and done, Cary had tallied three top 25 finishes, including a fourth place finish at the Harry Lang Invitational. Maybe most impressive was that he was invited to the National Open and placed 81st.

Yet, even in the most individual of sports, Cary has always placed his team before himself.

‘You have to put things in perspective here,’ Cary said. ‘There are a lot of talented runners in the Big East. Working as a team is more of how I approach it.’

Senior Jeff Scull said he respects his fellow classmate.

‘What I respect about him the most is his desire to take an interest in others on the team rather than solely in himself,’ Scull said. ‘This is what makes Robbie a great friend and teammate. You can always count on him for support and encouragement – and in terms of helping the team succeed, those attributes are just as important as being one of our top runners.’

Beyond cross country, the English and textual studies major is undecided about his future plans. He has another year of eligibility left but may forego it to pursue interests more related to his career plans. Graduate school at Syracuse or ‘somewhere different and warmer,’ is also a possibility.

For now, he’s focused on his individual goal: running a 5K in under 15 minutes. Of course, there’s the team focus, too. Cary is hoping to help Syracuse rise higher in the national rankings this year.

‘(The leadership) is really informal, but it’s great to show younger guys the ropes and help them get on board with the workouts and stuff,’ Cary said. ‘It’s also important on a team to come together and have fun socially.’

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on October 6, 2008 at 12:00 pm