Any successful team needs a balance of talent, experience and leadership. This year’s women’s cross country team has just that, with five seniors leading a talented group of underclassmen. For Head Coach Bill Ware’s squad, this mix is essential to produce a winning team.

The Bombers, already ranked in the top 30 teams nationwide, have won all three of the invitationals they have entered so far this year.

The reason for this start is not only smart, fast running, but also a combination of great leaders helping young runners be the best they can be, Ware said.

“It’s not just one thing. It’s a mix of many things,” Ware said. “It definitely helps when you have the senior leadership like we do this year.”

Led by captains Amanda Boccio and Bridget Hastings, the rest of the senior class — Elizabeth DeLong, Melanie McCormick and Anna Sumerlin — has aided a roster made up of mostly underclassmen and guided them to an unbelievable start.  

Having earned a trip to nationals in each of the past three years, the seniors know what it takes to earn that spot at the NCAAs, something they are passing on to the freshmen.   

“We all were freshmen once, and we know it takes time to adjust to the team workouts,” Boccio said. “Using the past three years as experience, we are trying to lead quietly by example.”

With the addition of eight freshmen, the upperclassmen have taken every one of them under their wings, teaching them how to be a Bomber. Freshman Meghan Shanley said whether it is pushing one another in Monday and Wednesday’s workouts or racing on Saturday, the older Bombers make sure the freshmen are giving their all.

“They are real motivating and help us stay relaxed, especially before races,” Shanley said. “It’s been more about having fun and working together than anything.”

This attitude is constant for the Bombers, especially before and after a hard-run meet.  

Ware said the seniors have helped the freshmen understand the traditions that come with being on the team.

“Jumping into Lake Ontario after the meet at SUNY-Oswego, the pre-race pasta dinners — that’s what the team loves and has picked up on,” Ware said. “What it means to be a Bomber and on a good team.”

The Bombers have not only picked up on traditions, but have also learned how to improve and win consistently while competing on a national level. With the development of freshman Jenn Randall, Empire 8 Runner of the Week three times in a row, the Bombers have a new front-runner who is just starting her Bomber career.

In the past three weeks, Randall has led the team, earning one win and two second-place finishes. Randall, Shanley and freshman Michelle Staiger are a bright part of the Bombers’ future, Assistant Coach Erin Dinan said.

The freshmen, combined with seniors Boccio and McCormick and a handful of juniors, make up a tough team to beat. Dinan said if they continue to improve week by week, come November, the Bombers will be hard to stop.

“The team as a whole, specifically the seniors, have all really grown,” Dinan said. “Not just as athletes, but as leaders.”