Being a senior on a sports team comes with certain responsibilities. Being the sole senior on a team comes with those same responsibilities, plus a whole lot of unneeded pressure.

And whether men's cross country runner David Henderson likes it or not, 14 pairs of younger eyes are on him every single time he laces up his shoes and runs.

Luckily, he doesn't seem to mind.

"I enjoy leading," Henderson said. "There's pressure to perform, but with so many freshmen, I need to set an example. It's not an overbearing weight."

With 11 underclassmen on the team, and Henderson the only competing senior on the roster, the person to look to as a leader this season was an obvious one.

Four years ago at Kings College, in Auckland, New Zealand, Henderson was a two-sport athlete. He ran and played a sport that involved a little more physical contact with other players — rugby. Unfortunately for Henderson, he broke his wrist, and his focus switched to hitting the pavement instead of hitting other people. When he came to Marquette, he became a full-time runner for the first time.

Henderson has placed in the top four for Marquette runners in every meet this season and was the first Golden Eagle to cross the finish line at the Big East Championship.

"Dave is one of the hardest workers on the team," said head coach David Uhrich. "He gives his best at every single workout. He's a team leader and a good student. He's what being a student-athlete is all about. He works hard at both."

While Henderson may not have been stealing the spotlight all season, he is one of the most consistent runners on the team whose presence would be missed if he were gone. And because of a nagging injury that he has been carrying all season long, Henderson may have to sit out for what could be his final cross country meet at Marquette.

"Dave's presence is essential at meets and practices," said sophomore Kyle Saginus. "He's a vocal leader, and he's teaching the younger guys to become leaders in the future. He's got so much experience, and we need that."

Over the four years at Marquette, Henderson, with the help of Uhrich and other runners before him, has become the experienced and knowledgeable runner he is today.

"When I first came here I didn't know when to peak or how many miles I could run at practice during the week," Henderson said.

Now he certainly does.

Henderson's injury has been all the more frustrating because of the time and effort he put into improving over the summer.

"I did the most work this summer," Henderson said. "I'm being held back (because of the injury), and I don't have another year. This is it for me."

With less then a week to go until the Great Lakes Regional in Bloomington, Ind., Henderson has one simple goal in mind: to be able to run.

Until then, all eyes are on him.