BOSTON – Suffolk women's cross country heads out on the trail for the first time in 2023 on Friday, Sept. 1 at the Rams' own Short Course Classic at Franklin Park. The women's 3k opens the event at 11:30 a.m. with the men's 5k wrapping up the action at 12:15 p.m. Fans can follow the race here. 

SOCIAL SAYINGS
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.

RAMS RINGLEADERS
Sydney Fogg and Jocelyn Triscik will return to their post as Suffolk women's cross country leaders and will also share the responsibility with Ellie Davis and Sarah Roberts in 2023 as head coach Will Feldman tabbed the entire upperclassmen quartet captains.  

MORE READING: Quartet to Captain Women's Cross Country in 2023 

RAMS ROOKIES
Two-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Champion Suffolk women's cross country added more depth in the offseason with five newcomers in blue-and-gold to help push the Rams to their third straight conference crown in 2023, head coach Will Feldman unveiled. The group, all true freshmen, includes Janelle Bryant, Paige Estaphan, Bailey Ford, Maria Gallant and Malory Taylor. 

MORE READING: Women's Cross Country Brings in Five in 2023

GEOGRAPHY 101
The Rams talent comes from 10 states. Eight stayed local in Massachusetts. Four flew across country from California. A pair made the trip from New Hampshire and New York.  Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and New Jersey are represented by one student-athlete apiece.  

CLASS CATEGORIES
Suffolk's line-up is evenly divided with every class represented. Seven juniors lead the way with five members of the freshman and sophomore classes, respectively. Four seniors and one graduate student round out the upperclassmen. 

COACH'S CORNER
Will Feldman returns for his seventh season at the helm of the Suffolk cross country and track & field programs. 

He has brought the Rams to regional and national success in his short term at the helm. His cross country highlights feature back-to-back CCC Women's Cross Country Championships and the University's first USTFCCCA All-American in cross country, Matyas Csiki-Fejer, who raced to the feat in 2021. 

To aid Feldman on a full-time basis, the program added Associate Head Coach Kerstin Darsney over the off season. 

Josh Brodin is back on Feldman's staff for his sixth season as an assistant coach, while former Rams runners Cole Bolduc and Justin Turner came back to the team in a coaching position this season.  

THE COURSE
Franklin Park has turned into a familiar run for Suffolk. The partially-wooded 527-acre parkland in the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston is maintained by the Department of Conservation and creation. 

THE FIELD
The field features a representative from every NCAA Division with 16 teams total sending student-athletes to Franklin Park.  

The Rams will be joined by CCC counterparts Nichols and the University of New England. Husson, Johnson & Wales, Plymouth State, Rivier, Salve Regina, Simmons Thomas and WPI complete the Division III competition. Assumption and Bentley represent the Division II contingent, while local Division I programs UConn, Northeastern and Stonehill will be in the mix as well. 

TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST
Suffolk, who sits eighth in the preseason USTFCCCA Division III East Regional Rankings, its highest preseason pick in program history, has stiff competition come Friday as Northeastern (#5 D1 Northeast), UConn #7 DI Northeast) and WPI (#6 DIII East) all sit in their respective regional rankings as well.  

THE DISTANCE
Things will be kept short and sweet in the season debut. The women will run a 3k, while the men will compete in a 5k.  

COACH'S QUOTES
About the Meet and the Competition
"We're excited to be hosting the Suffolk Short Course Classic again this year. We've had very competitive fields the last two seasons and this year is no different. We have a great mix of DI, DII and DIII schools attending, which should make for some intense racing." 

About the Rams
"I cannot wait to see our women in action on Friday. It's a great group of athletes who have been training hard all summer. It's by far the most talented and deep team we've ever fielded led by three strong seniors, who are balanced by three freshmen, who on any given day could be in our top five and will be competing for All-CCC honors at the end of the season."

RAMS TO WATCH

• Suffolk will look to senior Sydney Fogg and sophomore Amy Pattelena to set the pace up front.
• First-year runner Paige Estaphan has the simplest race plan of the day "stick with Sydney (Fogg) and Amy (Pattelena) as long as possible!"
• Senior Sarah Roberts should come in Suffolk's third or fourth spot. According to head coach Will Feldman, "she has proven herself to be the most reliable runner on the team and always steps up and delivers."
• Freshman Malory Taylor will factor into the Rams' top seven as well. 
• Emily Concepcion, a known name on the Rams' track & field teams, will make her cross country debut. "She's new to the sport, but has shown potential and could be the biggest surprise of the season for us," said Feldman.  

REGIONAL RANK
Ten days away from the first race of 2023, Suffolk women's cross country appeared in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason Regional Rankings as the eighth team in the East, the national organization unveiled. 

MORE READING: Women's Cross Country Tabbed Eighth in East in USTFCCCA Preseason Poll

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
Suffolk takes next weekend off to prep for the Bates Invitational Saturday, Sept. 16.