Dominic Hockenbury lined up at the starting position of the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown in September 2017 for his first race. After a year of preparation and practice as a redshirt, Hockenbury was eager for his first chance at the Orange’s first major event.

When the race started, Hockenbury was poised to sprint out of the start as he did in all of his races in high school, grabbing a lead and wrapping things up early. In high school, he’d look back and admire his lead he’d become so accustomed to having. But that was then. Halfway through his turn, he was in line with a swarm of non-orange jerseys right alongside him. Hockenbury ended the 8-kilometer in 19th place, an accomplishment for a rookie.

“For me, the races were over in the first half mile, if that, and I would be winning by over a minute. And in college you can’t do that because everybody is the same way and they can run with you,” Hockenbury said. “So, it wasn’t just a half mile, it was a full 8K race. You are not always in the lead. You might be 20-50 spots back.”

His first race and first full year were successes, but he couldn’t find those same times and results again last year as a sophomore. Now, head coach Brien Bell expects Hockenbury, a junior, to step up and help rescue a program that has seen declining results in the past few seasons and lost the ACC Championships last year.

“The hardest thing about our sport is consistency,” senior Aidan Tooker said. “We had a shift in leadership. There were three really strong core guys who left. With (Hockenbury), I can tell there has been a really big shift from last year.”

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A two-time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association 2A Cross Country champion at Lake Lehman, Hockenbury was brought in to be a future cornerstone of the Orange in 2016, following the Syracuse men’s second national title the season prior. He was just one of a new wave of runners taking over from SU’s most storied class in history and impressed early on.

Boston was his springboard which led to success at the ACC Championships and again at NCAA regionals. He placed 20^th  and 11^th, respectively at the latter two events, and following those breakout races, Hockenbury surpassed expectations. He placed well ahead of more experienced runners on the team and was a mainstay in Syracuse’s lineup. Hockenbury was awarded All-ACC honors and was on an upward trajectory.

“Running at the conference meet and being All-ACC and that kind of like proved to myself that I could run with the big guys and I could compete with everybody here just like the older guys on the team,” Hockenbury said. “From there, I really built confidence.”

Yet at NCAA Championships that year, Hockenbury finished 25 seconds behind the departing senior Justyn Knight. After a summer to rest and build on his freshman season, Hockenbury finished lower at every major event other than Northeast Regionals and again struggled at NCAA Championships, this time finishing 223^rd. Hockenbury would not earn All-ACC honors as he did the year prior and struggled to find answers.

“I would say both years at Nationals were a lot less than I had hoped for,” Hockenbury said.

This past summer, Hockenbury said he put a newfound energy into maintaining his body. He said he knows that he is responsible for his performances and is holding himself to a higher standard in his redshirt junior year.

“I don’t think anyone is holding each other accountable because we all hold ourselves accountable,” Tooker said. “We do aim to be if not the best program in the conference, one of the best in the country. I think that kind of comes out of yourself first.”

After losing their top spot in the ACC in 2018, the Orange are depending on improvement across the board, especially from Hockenbury.

“Am I expecting a better performance?” Bell asked. “Is he expecting a better performance? Is the team expecting a better performance?… yes.”

Published on September 24, 2019 at 10:31 pm

Contact Eli: efjarjou@syr.edu