Tully Harrier

October 10, 2006                                                                                                                                                                  Edition No. 8

The Eagle Harrier

Nothing Could Be Finer!

J-E Geared Up to Race CBA & Caz.

Tully, N.Y. – The Jordan-Elbridge Cross Country Teams competed in the Tully Invitational Saturday and it appears that they are gaining momentum to compete in their most important race of the year – the double dual meet vs. CBA and Cazenovia.  Both CBA and Cazenovia are within reach of the Eagles, and the race Wednesday should be determined by less than the number of fingers on one hand. 

            The Boys Varsity Team finished in sixth place, just seven points from fourth place.  “I was extremely pleased with our entire races” said Coach Roman, “we ran hard, moved up throughout the race, and even sprinted at the end of the race”.  Tully H.S. narrowly defeated Pawling H.S. (47 – 52), followed by league foe Westhill in 3^rd (72).  Pulaski was 4^th  (162),  followed by Phoenix in 5^th (167), and J-E in 6^th (169).  There were twelve teams competing in the race.  J-E edged Clinton H.S. (171) and  Watkins Glen (189) for sixth place.

            Jeff Donohue was J-E’s first man once again finishing in 19^th place in his second sub-18 minute time of the season (17.52).  Donohue trailed teammate Donato Direnzo until about the mile mark when he caught his fellow junior teammate.  Direnzo finished thirty-three seconds behind Donohue in 30^th place overall (18.25).  Freshman Mike Marrero has solidified his position as J-E’s third man by finishing next in a time of 18.54 (37^th place).  Asked if he thought he was going to catch Direnzo during the race, Marrero replied: “Yes, I really thought I was closing on him and I was hoping I’d catch him”.  After viewing the race video, it was clear that Marrero was closer at the 2.25 mile mark than where he finished.  “Donato obviously threw a huge surge into his race and widened the gap between him and Mike”.  Next for J-E was junior Jake Griffin who finished 47^th in 19.08.  “Griff raced much better today than he did on Wednesday” said Roman, “he was focused on running today and it showed”.  Senior Kyle Merrill was J-E’s fifth man finishing in 49^th place, only six seconds behind Griffin (19.14).  “Kyle really has been pushing himself lately” said Roman, “he’s trying to make up for lost time and he realizes his cross country career is quickly coming to a close”.  Normal number three runner Shelby Brayton was J-E’s sixth man Saturday as he made a comeback after missing Wednesday’s victory over Solvay.  “I really felt slow after missing a week’s worth of training” said Brayton, “I was horrible”.  Brayton finished 38 seconds behind Merrill (62^nd place/19.52), and Saturday’s race was the first time that Brayton did not score for the Eagles.  Kyle Bard was disappointed that he missed breaking the 20-minute barrier (64^th place/20.01), despite throwing a nasty kick into his race.

         The Junior Varsity Team finished in tenth place out of 17 squads in the race, including five AA size schools, one A sized school, and one B school.  J-E was the third Class C school in the race and was led once again by the newest rising star for the Eagles – freshman Cody Stanton.  Stanton was the 24^th fastest in the multi-classed JV race, but was J-E’s fourth fastest on the day.  “Cody is becoming one of my more predictable runners” said Coach Roman, “I now know that his performance is not a fluke, and I will rely on him to help defeat CBA and Cazenovia on Wednesday”.  Stanton’s time (19.00) was merely six seconds behind ‘Mad Dog’ Marrero’s time, and Marrero is now a legitimate threat.  Senior Andy Degray had his best race performance of the year as he was J-E’s 7^th-fastest runner.  Degray was 53^rd in 19.51.  George Brauchle was next for the JV Squad finishing 78^th (20.36). almost an unheard of three minutes faster than his freshman time from 2005.  “Andy told me that I’ll need at least a one minute lead if I want to beat him down the stretch of a race” said Brauchle, “I’m not the best sprinter”.  Kyle Becker was J-E’s 4^th man (120^th/21.48), followed by Dylan Kirk (127^th/22.05), and Brendan Hogan (151^st/23.00). 

            “Hopefully, we will be ready to rumble with CBA and Cazenovia Wednesday”, “two schools that have top-notched front runners, but lack the depth and team balance that J-E has” said Coach Roman.  “I really would hate to be in their positions running against us” continued Roman, “we are starting to realize how good we can be”.  “If Jeff and Donato put us into position to pull off an upset, we have six or more supporting runners who can make the difference in the race”.  “Don’t count J-E out of the state rankings either as the Eagles are making a great pitch to be amongst the top teams in Class C in New York State.