Jon Squeri is a junior on the men's cross country team.
Squeri: The Simple Runner
10/8/2012 12:04:00 PM | Cross Country
Fortunate, determined and simple. That's how Jon Squeri, a junior finance major at Syracuse University, describes himself.
"As a student-athlete, I try to do the best I can in whatever I do," Squeri said. "I try to balance my time as effectively as possible."
Being an avid Yankee fan, cross country wasn't always his first choice.
"In high school, I was trying to be a baseball player," Squeri said. "To get in shape, I thought I would go out for cross country. When I made the team, my high school coach ended up influencing me to keep running, so I quit baseball. He was a great influence on me as a runner and as a person. He was my mentor and is still my mentor today."
Squeri carried these motivations to college where he made the Syracuse cross country team his freshman year.
 "My high school coach is what led to me to do cross country in college," Squeri said. "My high school coach is someone that always pushed me no matter what it was. We are really close and I probably wouldn't be here without him."
Fresh off a win in the Toledo Inter-Regional Bubble Buster, the No. 10 men's cross country team is wasting no time preparing for the Wisconsin adidas Invitational which takes place on Friday, Oct. 12th. Squeri has finished in the top-10 of every race so far this season, coming in eighth at the Harry Lang Invitational (20:21), fourth at the Dartmouth Invite (24:51) and 10th at the Toledo Inter-Regional Bubble Buster (19:26). The men's team has finished first overall in all three of those races.
 "I think the beginning of the season was a step in a great direction for us," Squeri said. "Coach Fox and Coach Bell always have a plan. We have been training for the later races in the season so it's important for us to try and go out and run as a pack. I think we showed that going to number 10 in the rankings. They really stress to continue to work towards our end of the year goals because that's what's really important to us."Â
When training for such important races, Squeri believes you have to get prepared not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
"This is one of our hardest tests of the year to see where we stack up against some of the best teams in the country," Squeri said.
In order to be successful, the men's cross country team trains everyday with various workout regiments. They are continuing to see that hard work pay off.
 "Something that gives us pride in what we do is meeting in the mornings and doing all the little things that really help us," Squeri said. "When we look back at the season, we can say we worked harder than a lot of other people. We feel like there is a great opportunity for us to really surprise some people and finish higher than we ever have at the national race."
When Squeri is not doing his homework or running 10 miles a day, he is just your normal college student.
"I usually live a very low key lifestyle during the season" Squeri said. "I like hip-hop. I like country. On weekends, my teammates and I also like to play poker. I'm a pretty boring person. I'm a simple person."
Although at school his life may be simple, back at home this summer it was a little different. This past summer, Squeri was a marketing and global strategy intern at AT&T in New Jersey. Working long hours and balancing his passion of running didn't prove to be such a challenge for the Princeton Junction, N.J. native.Â
"Working 40 hours per week would seem tiring but running was the best part of the day," Squeri said. Â "Most people would be tired to do that, but it was easy for me to go for a 12 mile run after a nine-hour workday. This is when I realized I feel fortunate to be apart of this culture at Syracuse."
From his influential high school coach and his personal perseverance of running, Squeri believes in giving back to his local community. He wants to show young people how running can really change your life for the better.
"When I am home, I always volunteer as a coach to mentor the high school cross country and track team," Squeri said. "This sport has given me so much, so I want to give back what I have learned. I feel like people never want to hear someone who runs to read books to them, so I try and help out in the ways I feel are most effective."
Driven, focused and an overall charitable guy, Squeri has proved that balancing life a student-athlete can be very rewarding. He couldn't have grown into the person he is today without cross country. However, he never likes to over think it.
"I love running, I love what I do, it's my passion for me. Every time I try and over think running, you realize just how simple it is," Squeri said.
"As a student-athlete, I try to do the best I can in whatever I do," Squeri said. "I try to balance my time as effectively as possible."
Being an avid Yankee fan, cross country wasn't always his first choice.
"In high school, I was trying to be a baseball player," Squeri said. "To get in shape, I thought I would go out for cross country. When I made the team, my high school coach ended up influencing me to keep running, so I quit baseball. He was a great influence on me as a runner and as a person. He was my mentor and is still my mentor today."
Squeri carried these motivations to college where he made the Syracuse cross country team his freshman year.
 "My high school coach is what led to me to do cross country in college," Squeri said. "My high school coach is someone that always pushed me no matter what it was. We are really close and I probably wouldn't be here without him."
Fresh off a win in the Toledo Inter-Regional Bubble Buster, the No. 10 men's cross country team is wasting no time preparing for the Wisconsin adidas Invitational which takes place on Friday, Oct. 12th. Squeri has finished in the top-10 of every race so far this season, coming in eighth at the Harry Lang Invitational (20:21), fourth at the Dartmouth Invite (24:51) and 10th at the Toledo Inter-Regional Bubble Buster (19:26). The men's team has finished first overall in all three of those races.
 "I think the beginning of the season was a step in a great direction for us," Squeri said. "Coach Fox and Coach Bell always have a plan. We have been training for the later races in the season so it's important for us to try and go out and run as a pack. I think we showed that going to number 10 in the rankings. They really stress to continue to work towards our end of the year goals because that's what's really important to us."Â
When training for such important races, Squeri believes you have to get prepared not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
"This is one of our hardest tests of the year to see where we stack up against some of the best teams in the country," Squeri said.
In order to be successful, the men's cross country team trains everyday with various workout regiments. They are continuing to see that hard work pay off.
 "Something that gives us pride in what we do is meeting in the mornings and doing all the little things that really help us," Squeri said. "When we look back at the season, we can say we worked harder than a lot of other people. We feel like there is a great opportunity for us to really surprise some people and finish higher than we ever have at the national race."
When Squeri is not doing his homework or running 10 miles a day, he is just your normal college student.
"I usually live a very low key lifestyle during the season" Squeri said. "I like hip-hop. I like country. On weekends, my teammates and I also like to play poker. I'm a pretty boring person. I'm a simple person."
Although at school his life may be simple, back at home this summer it was a little different. This past summer, Squeri was a marketing and global strategy intern at AT&T in New Jersey. Working long hours and balancing his passion of running didn't prove to be such a challenge for the Princeton Junction, N.J. native.Â
"Working 40 hours per week would seem tiring but running was the best part of the day," Squeri said. Â "Most people would be tired to do that, but it was easy for me to go for a 12 mile run after a nine-hour workday. This is when I realized I feel fortunate to be apart of this culture at Syracuse."
From his influential high school coach and his personal perseverance of running, Squeri believes in giving back to his local community. He wants to show young people how running can really change your life for the better.
"When I am home, I always volunteer as a coach to mentor the high school cross country and track team," Squeri said. "This sport has given me so much, so I want to give back what I have learned. I feel like people never want to hear someone who runs to read books to them, so I try and help out in the ways I feel are most effective."
Driven, focused and an overall charitable guy, Squeri has proved that balancing life a student-athlete can be very rewarding. He couldn't have grown into the person he is today without cross country. However, he never likes to over think it.
"I love running, I love what I do, it's my passion for me. Every time I try and over think running, you realize just how simple it is," Squeri said.
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