On a team with three returning All-Americans, it’s easy for some of the supporting cast’s names to get lost in the shuffle. Redshirt freshman Joseph Dragon is trying to prevent that from happening.

During the first three races of the season, Dragon has shown glimpses of becoming a key contributor on a No. 3 Syracuse team, a winner of all three of its matches, aiming for a national title. Last year, Dragon watched the Orange place third at the NCAA Championships. The redshirt year allowed him to develop and acclimate to college running before he even took a single stride for SU.

“(Redshirting) gives runners a season to adjust and grow as a runner,” sophomore Kevin James said, “You train all fall and by the end of the year you’re a completely different person.”

After not officially competing last season, Dragon placed third at the Harry Lang Invitational on Sept. 2 and ran sixth at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 8. His latest performance in the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown on Sept. 22 may have solidified his role as a long-term asset for the Orange.

In the middle of the race in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Dragon recalled associate head coach coach Brien Bell screaming at the pack of Syracuse runners that they “needed a fifth guy.” Later on, Bell’s talk honed in on Dragon, who was running at the same pace as SU’s top runners. During the final 100 meters of the race, Dragon blazed past five different runners to finish 12th and give Syracuse enough points for its third win.

“I knew I had a job to do because (Knight) wasn’t running,” Dragon said. “After (James), the team needed someone to finish out our scoring and win the meet, and I knew I could be that guy.”

Although Dragon’s stretch of good racing has been needed for Syracuse, the awaited return of Knight will likely knock Dragon down in the lineup.

Dragon compared his role on the team to Philo Germano’s in 2015. The now-senior was pegged to be Syracuse’s sixth man that year, but he stepped up and scored during the NCAA Championship, contributing toward SU’s first-ever national title.

“I want to be in that sixth or seventh spot,” Dragon said, “If there’s a tie or someone has a bad race, I want to be that guy that steps up.”

With Knight’s return pending, and several solid races under his belt, Dragon’s role for Syracuse is still not concrete. The redshirt freshman will have chances to prove he belongs in the top seven, head coach Chris Fox said.

“He’s going to make our team through ACCs,” Fox said, “and maybe make it to nationals, which is a really good thing for a redshirt freshman.”

Published on October 10, 2017 at 9:30 pm

Contact KJ: kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman