In order to capitalize on hosting the America East championship this year, the Binghamton men’s cross country team will have to rely upon its veterans for leadership, while the women’s squad will have to depend on its youthful energy.

The nine-team championship meet is scheduled to take place on Nov. 2 on BU’s home course, which starts and finishes behind the East Gym and includes much of the Binghamton Nature Preserve.

The Bearcats have not hosted the event since 2005.

Last season, Stony Brook and New Hampshire finished first and second, respectively, in the conference in both men’s and women’s.

“We’re certainly excited for the season this year,” Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff said. “We’re hosting the America East championships, so that’s exciting for both of our programs.”

The men’s team includes 13 upperclassmen, providing the Bearcats with an abundance of experienced runners. Acuff believes that her team’s depth will be a crucial factor in the Bearcats’ goal of finishing in the top three in the conference after a slew of injuries led to a sixth place finish in 2012.

“I think with the men’s team, our goals this year are to try and place ourselves back into the top three in the conference,” Acuff said. “I think we’ve got a good opportunity to be able to do that.”

A few of Binghamton’s top returners include senior Vasili Papastrat, grad student Jeff Martinez and juniors Cal Michaels, Jesse Garn and Matt Johnson.

“We’d just like to reestablish ourselves in the conference,” Papastrat said. “We’re not looking to go out there and just blow everyone away and take the title at home. Of course, that’d be great. But we’re looking to get like top three and just be pretty modest with our goals.”

On the women’s side, eight underclassmen and only three upperclassmen make up a Bearcats team on the rise.

“We’ve got a really young team but a lot of maturity, I think, and a lot of the girls have had a good summer,” Acuff said. “We’re looking forward to improving upon how we did last year.”

After a fifth-place result last season, the Bearcats, armed with a bunch of new, fresh legs, are poised to better that in 2013.

“[Last year] was a little bit of an improvement for us,” Acuff said. “We’ve got a real strong newcomer, Eileen O’Hara, who was one of the top high school seniors from last year in New York state. So I think you’ll see her in our top five for sure, if we can keep her healthy.”

Injuries, according to Acuff, were the team’s Achilles’ heel in 2012.

“We struggled for whatever reasons last year with some injuries,” Acuff said. “That’s been the number one goal … is just to try and keep everyone healthy. I think we’ll do the best job that we can and just make sure that we can train smart and that we’re doing the right things day-in and day-out and taking it one day at a time.”

The 2013 season is set to kickoff at 11 a.m. on Sept. 7 when Binghamton hosts the America East Pre-Conference Meet.