ALFRED, NY -- Heading into a new fall season for the Alfred Saxons cross-country team, the goal remains the same: progress. 

With plenty of new faces and familiar faces alike, the Saxons have a lot to look forward to – it's just a matter of running the path to get there. Paving the path through progress and success through hours of running. 

"We're continuing to build these programs up and we're definitely at a crossroads, not quite a tipping point and not quite at the peak," Head Coach Matt Phillips said. "It's definitely been an uphill battle … but we are poised to be ready to go." 

Team mentality is strong heading into the season. With a group eyeing to be the best they can be, the running times will speak for themselves. For Phillips' crew, it's about improving as a whole rather than as individuals. Moving on from last season which saw varied results and some individual standouts, the Saxons have a lot to look forward to. They continue to look back on their previous seasons and look for ways to improve results. 

"It's about team time improving, team time improving from last year," Phillips said. "We're competing against our best team time from the last 10 years and trying to be the best team we've fielded in 10 years." 

The start of the new track complex in Jericho Hill is just the start of other things to look forward to as well. Furthermore, the preparation for the future continues to bolster Alfred's chances going into this season and beyond. A plentiful recruiting class has big shoes to fill, but plenty of opportunity in the years to come. On the men's side in particular, there are only three seniors and six first-year runners, chomping at the bit to develop and lead the cross-country program into the future. 

"Our senior class is on the smaller side, and we have a lot of underclassmen and women, so that's really good for us," Phillips said. "As we build this program, these new students are coming in and listening to what we're trying to do." 

Phillips has much more support than in years past as well. With the hiring of Assistant Coach Sierra Wilson, two graduate assistants, and two part-time student workers, the work can be split up more evenly to move forward. With seven races on the docket, and the first one coming up this Friday evening at Houghton University, all hands are on deck and ready to go. It's more than just the results Phillips and his crew will be watching, but rather the progression the group makes as a whole in the long run.  

"I feel like now is a great time to promote and look at Alfred as a legit place at something different and outside the ordinary," Phillips said. "We have the support now and building the staff, facilities, equipment, and is a good space that we get to do things there and doing things we've never done before which is really exciting." 

As previously mentioned, Alfred kicks off its season on August 30 at St.John Fisher University at 6:00 p.m. This starts a string of six races ending with the NCAA Atlantic Regionals at Fredonia and eying a birth at the NCAA National Championship in November in Terra Haute, Indiana.