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 September 25, 2011 Edition No. 4

Eagles Bludgeon

Bees' Nest

 Baldwinsville, New York - Domination like what was seen at the Baldwinsville Invitational Saturday is hard to predict. Usually such one-sided affairs 

goes to the favorite like when the Persian Army met and defeated the 300 inspired Spartan Warriors, or when underdog Butler University matched up with 

Duke University in the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship but lost.  The J-E Junior Varsity Cross Country team so dominated the Baldwinsville 

Invitational and few people saw it coming.  J-E was hardly the favorite to win the race, it was just hoping to do well as it had in the first two invitationals 

of the season.  The Eagles scored a meet-low score of 28 points in the Small School Junior Varsity race - lower than the score that the other ten JV squads 

could have achieved had they combined their top runners to form a single team (they would have scored 29 points).  J-E's total was simply the lowest total 

of the day, and in a sport where the low score wins, it was simply a dominant showing.  The second place squad from Cazenovia was nearly 100 points 

behind the Eagles.

     Sophomore Jacob ‘J.P.' Patterson got the party started by finishing second overall in the race in a time of 18 minutes and 27 seconds.  When asked 

if they thought he was going to win the race, Patterson replied, "Yeah, that's what I thought and I hoped would happen."  Patterson was two minutes 

and 12 seconds faster than his time from 2010, an unheard of improvement.  Solvay's Isaiah Lee, a freshman, won the race a mere eight seconds ahead 

of Patterson.  Following J.P. across the line was one of the team's rookie ‘harriers', junior Christian Marrero in a time of 18.43 in third place.  Just 

four seconds behind Marrero was freshman Nathan Hollis (18.47) who finished fourth.  Both Marrero and Hollis were competing in only their third 

races of the three-mile flavor.  Also cracking the top ten for the first time in his career was sophomore Nick Parkolap who finished 8th (19.02).  Elder 

statesman Jared Bard, a three-year veteran,  rounded out the scoring in 11th place (19.19).   "We seem to like racing on this course with my younger 

runners" said a pleased J-E coach Roman, "this is our third win at B'ville in the JV race out of the last four we've entered."

     Freshman Austin Milton was 14th, just missing the Eagle scoring ranks (19.36), followed by senior Eric Gross (35th - 20.25), sophomores Jay 

Paquette and Dean Comstock were next for J-E in 37th and 40th places respectively (20.30 and 20.39), junior Billy Direnzo was 42nd (20.40), 

sophomore David Fixler was 53rd (21.20), junior Nick Muehlberger was 64th (22.02), Freshman Gunnar Ferris was 87th (24.01), and 

Tyler ‘T-May' May was 104th (25.57).  "These guys have been doing the same workouts as the varsity team and it is obvious that it is paying off" 

said Coach Roman, "some of these JV runners will be running on the varsity squad before long."  

     The J-E Varsity squad also competed in the small school division and finished fifth out of 28 schools.  Although the results weren't as impressive, 

the Eagles did manage to defeat 24 teams.  "Imagine a baseball, football, or lacrosse team being disappointed with a 24 and 4 record" said veteran coach 

Bruce Derrick, "finishing fifth is nothing to scoff at."  The race was won by class B power Marcellus with 60 points, followed by Tully (108), 

Hannibal (149), and Solvay (172).  J-E's total was 197.

     Getting on the board first for J-E is tireless senior Stephen Slonosky who cruised through the mud on B'ville's 3.0 mile course in a time of 16 

minutes and 39 seconds.  Fellow senior Mitch Alpha was J-E's second man finishing 26th (17.17), followed by sophomore Jack Gugel (34th place - 17.34), 

Alex Suslik (58th place - 18.08), and Rob Patterson (67th place - 18.21).  For Suslik, the 18.08 time was the fastest of his two-year career.  Patterson was 

twenty-three seconds faster than 2010.  J-E's sixth man was sophomore Dylan Whittico (75th - 18.28) who was one minute and 17 seconds faster than 

last year.  Senior Ben Cheney finished in 95th place (19.01).  

     J-E travels to Skaneateles on Wednesday to race the Lakers and an up-and-coming squad from Solvay who is fresh off a win over J-E.  Records show 

that if Solvay is to pull off a victory over the Eagles, it will be the first time in over 25 years.  "The difference is so small between us and Solvay from 

Saturday that basically, the team that wants it most on Wednesday will win."  "Hopefully this is us" added J-E Coach Roman.

      Don't tell anyone, but David indeed defeated the nine-foot tall Philistine giant named Goliath, and the J-E Junior Varsity Squad defeated all takers, 

only this time, there was no crater where the giant had fallen. 

Visit http://www.jecrosscountry.com// to see photos, race results, and former J-E teams.

J-E Cross Country Stands Tall

Rochester, New York - The McQuaid Invitational, held annually at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, is the third largest cross-country 

race in the country. There were 228 schools Saturday divided into 13 girls' races and 15 boys' races.  The J-E Cross Country Eagles 

ventured to Rochester in the wee hours of Saturday morning, demonstrating why it has become one of the premier small school 

running programs in state.  

     The day was dark, windy, rainy, and cold, with wind chills in the 40's.  Mud covered much of the 3.0 mile course.  The Eagles 

were missing three of their top runners too, as Mitch Alpha and Jack Gugel sat out the race with injuries, and senior Alex Suslik was 

off taking his SAT Exam.  "Coming off of Wednesday's loss to Solvay and with the less-than-perfect conditions here at McQuaid, we 

could have simply packed it in" said J-E Coach Roman.  "We competed hard."

     For the Boys Varsity who were forced to run in the elite, seeded small school race despite the missing athletes, got bounced 

around a bit.  The Eagles finished tied for 16th place with 383 points.  Comparing the times that the J-E varsity ran to the non-seeded 

small school races would have placed the Eagles at the worst in fourth place.  "Big difference between the seeded race and the 

unseeded races. " The race was won by Pennsylvania power North East, Pa. with 116 points.  

     Senior Stephen Slonosky once again led the Eagles across the mud-soaked course in 18th place with an outstanding time of 

16 minutes and 39.23 seconds.  Had Slonosky raced in the unseeded races, his time would have placed him in the top three of both.  

"The mud slowed everyone down a huge amount" said Slonosky, "I'm disappointed that I didn't break 16 minutes."  Dylan Whittico 

achieved a couple of personal milestones in the race as he broke 18 minutes for the first time and was the Eagles' second-man, 

also for the first time.  Whittico was 73rd (17.56.31).  Rob Patterson was J-E's third man finishing in 86th place (18.09.64), followed 

by freshman Nathan Hollis (110th - 18.38), and Jared Bard (119th - 18.58).  This was Hollis' first time as J-E's 4th man and for Bard, 

the race marked the first time he's ever scored for the varsity.   This was also Bard's first career sub-19 minute race.  Ben Cheney was 

J-E's 6th man (122nd - 19.01.29) and Eric Gross, an emergency varsity substitute, was 145th (19.57.12).  Gross, a senior rookie harrier 

likewise set a p.r. with his first sub-20 minute race.   "You know, despite the low team placement, each and every member of this team 

battled like this was a league championship or sectional race."  "We got out hard and worked our tails off."  "I am very very pleased 

with their efforts" said Coach Roman.

     For the Junior Varsity Squad, high finishes is becoming the norm, and Saturday was no different.  The junior Eagles finished in 

an impressive 4th place with only 95 points in a race that featured over 45 schools and 251 runners.  Barker H.S. dominated the race, 

winning with an incredible 23 points, followed by Addison (73), Pawling (86), then the Eagles.  J-E was one-place ahead of 

North East PA (119 points) and another 15 complete scoring teams.  What worked on Saturday for J-E was a quick start and 

bunching four runners in the top 21 places of the race.  Newcomer Christian Marrero was J-E's top finisher (12th place) turning in 

a fast time of 18.51, a mere second ahead of fast-finishing Jacob Patterson (13th place - 18.52).  Just behind these two were 

sophomore Nick Parkolap (17th place - 19.16), freshman Austin Milton (21st place - 19.19) and junior Billy DiRenzo 

(48th place - 19.59).  Coach Roman added: "To have our top four in the first 21 of a race that featured 251 runners and 45 schools 

is simply amazing."  "This clearly shows that what we're doing at J-E is working."   Milton was heard saying how good he felt, and 

Direnzo's first sub-20 minute race ‘sealed the deal' for the Eagles.  Also showing improved conditioning were sophomores 

Jay Paquette (57th - 20.10), Dean Comstock (68th - 20.27), and David Fixler (91st - 20.49).  For Paquette and Comstock, their 

times were the fastest in their careers for three miles.  Junior Nick Muehlberger was 136th (21.42), freshman Gunnar Ferris 

(226th - 24.08), and John Winkler also raced well for J-E.  Winkler's time and place were not available.

     After the rain-soaked and mud covered Eagles broke camp and headed for home, a stop for lunch at Ponderosa Steak 

House was enjoyed by all.  "I can't believe how well behaved this group is this year" said longtime J-E coach Bruce Derrick, 

"it really shows what great kids we have."  "They all were polite in the restaurant and most left hearty tips for the waitresses too."  

     Once again, the Jordan-Elbridge Cross Country team showed class A character, class, and effort.

  
Visit http://www.jecrosscountry.com/ to see photos, race results, and former J-E teams.
 
October 6, 2011      Edition No. 7                                                                                                                                                                             Edition - No. 7
The Eagle Harrier
Heartbreaker!
Ludden-Westhill  27    J-E 28 
 
 Syracuse, New York - The J-E boys waged a valiant battle against a much larger opponent yesterday, falling 
by the narrowest margin.  The Eagles, despite putting their first two runners across the line ahead of 
Westhill-Ludden's, lost by the score of 27 - 28.   J-E did defeat C.B.A. by the score of 23 - 36 to even its 
record at two wins and two losses.
      Senior Stephen Slonosky, celebrating his 18th birthday, was second overall in the race in a time of 
14 minutes and 8 seconds on the 2.5 mile Westhill-Ludden home course. ‘Slono' was looking to upset C.B.A.'s 
Brendan Smith - the number-one ranked Class C runner in Section III.  "I thought I'd see what I could do" 
said Slonosky, "and I was right with him."  "He then put on a surge like I'd never seen before" added Slonosky 
and "the race was over."  Senior teammate Mitch Alpha was just behind Slonosky, finishing in third-place (14.17), 
giving the Eagles an early, and seemingly commanding lead over Westhill-Ludden.  Alpha, who was held out of 
the McQuaid Invitational Saturday with a back problem showed no signs of rust as he blazed the last loop of the 
course and left a trio of Westhill-Ludden runners in his wake.  "I was worried a bit when these guys were right 
with me entering the last woods loop" said Alpha.  "That Moore kid even passed me in the woods" continued 
Alpha, "but I worked the hills hard and broke him."
     Unfortunately for the Eagles, Westhill-Ludden captured the next four places to get back into the race.  
When Kyle Fitch, the fifth Westhill-Ludden runner, finished just seven seconds ahead of J-E's Robby Patterson, 
the one-point victory was in hand for the Warriors-Gaelic Knights.  "Robby took a nasty fall during the race and 
he just couldn't recover enough ground to catch up" said J-E Coach Roman, "but most runners would have given 
up given the nature of Patterson's fall."  
     Senior Alex Suslik, riding a very strong second half wave, passed several teammates and was J-E's 
third-scorer for the first time.  Suslik was timed at 14.50.  Dylan Whittico, making the race highly entertaining 
when he outkicked Westhill-Ludden's Kyle Fitch down the closing 100 meters of the race, was J-E's fourth man 
(14.55).  "I knew I could out sprint that kid (Fitch) when I came out of the woods" said Whittico, "I really wanted 
to beat their 4th man, but my legs wouldn't cooperate."  Nathan Hollis and Ben Cheney were the Eagles last two 
varsity runners finishing 17th and 18th places respectively (15.27 and 15.29).
     Westhill-Ludden won the Junior Varsity contest over the Eagles by the score of 26 - 29.
     It should be pointed out that the Westhill-Ludden merger places the combined enrollment of the two 
schools to 649 students.  Compared to the J-E enrollment of 353, it is clearly a mismatch of sizes, but 
definitely not talent.  "The Westhill-Ludden merger has gotten so much criticism in Section III" said J-E 
Coach Roman, "some people think that the merger was motivated by goal of improving both team's 
(boys and girls cross country) chances of making it to the state meet."  "I do not know anyone's motivations, 
all I know is in cross country, where you only score five runners, adding a runner or two from another school 
really tilts the competitive balance."  "It is a fact that the Westhill-Ludden merger did result in a sectional 
championship for the boys in 2010 and right now, the Westhill-Ludden girls are favored to do the same."
     Anyway you slice it, the J-E boys cross country squad proved that size hardly matters at all when you 
have the heart of a giant.  Once again boys, you've made me very proud.
 
Visit www.jecrosscountry.com to see photos, race results, and former J-E teams. 
October 13, 2011                                                                       Edition - No. 8
The Eagle Harrier
Hotdog!
Sensational Seniors are Recognized 
Jordan, New York - Cross country, October, and Jordan-Elbridge.  These three concepts have been irrevocably spun together and 
are now synonymous with many other concepts such as family, pride, and team-orientation.
     Wednesday was Senior Recognition Day at J-E where thirteen male and female cross country runners would be honored for 
their service to J-E cross country.  These ‘harriers' and their parents got a whole lot more than just a ceremony and four races on 
this fine day.  "Running cross country is a family-thing" said J-E senior Mitch Alpha, "when you run cross country for Jordan-Elbridge, 
you are everyone's kid."  Tears of joy flowed from many an eye that gave testament to Alpha's words, especially when the female 
underclassmen read prepared speeches to their senior teammates and said words such as: "You are my role model", and "I'll never 
forget when you ", "Please come back next year".   J-E Athletic Director and High School Associate Principal Eric Varney was the 
master of ceremonies and commented on some of the unorthodox training techniques of the Eagles.  He noted that some on the 
Eagles' squad refrain from wearing sneakers during training (see above photo!)and that some of the motivational messages on the 
field house white board were ‘interesting'.
     Following the races on Wednesday was what will hopefully become a tradition, the first J-E XC picnic.  Showcasing the 
spectacular new stadium and field house, a pair of J-E parents organized a pot-luck picnic where over 120 runners, coaches, and 
parents from Homer, Hannibal, and Jordan-Elbridge were fed.  Organized by two of the J-E Boys XC squad's moms, families of the 
runners contributed food dishes, money, and their time and effort to help cater to the hungry throng of cross country runners.  
"This would not have happened without the efforts of many in this community" said J-E Coach Roman, "but most importantly 
were the efforts of the picnic organizers Mary Bard and Kate Alpha."  "I cannot thank them enough for what they did to get this 
affair off the ground" added Roman.  "This is who we are."  In all, there were almost two dozen parent volunteers assisting in the 
picnic.  The Hannibal Coach, Danny Pawliewicz said: "Next year, when you do your senior ceremony and picnic, please make 
sure we are invited!"  
     The race against Hannibal was a hard-fought battle against New York State's number 7 ranked Class C team.  The final score 
was Hannibal 22 and J-E 35.  "We gave them a great test" said Roman, "but being without two of my top five runners sealed our 
fate."  J-E took five of the top 7 places against Homer, easily defeating the Trojans by the score of 21 - 38.  The thirteenth-ranked 
J-E boys' record now sits at an even 3 wins and 3 losses within the Liberty Division.  Hannibal is second with a 5 and 1 record.
     Senior Stephen Slonosky, wanting desperately to win his last home cross country race, led for almost the entire race but was 
out-kicked by Hannibal senior Ben Griffin.  "We've been racing against each other since 7th grade" said Slonosky, "we know each 
other pretty well."  "I knew he'd be after me pretty hard down the stretch."  "It was a good race."  Griffin ran 16.50 and Slonosky 
ran 16.53.
     The Warriors and the Eagles interchanged their next two runners after Hannibal's Ryan Perry finished 3rd (16.57) and J-E's 
Mitch Alpha (17.29) was 4th.  J-E's two-point deficit turned into a 13-point deficit after Hannibal put three more runners in front of 
J-E's third man Alex Suslik (10th place - 18.40).  Dylan Whittico was J-E's fourth-man (12th place - 18.53) and Ben Cheney was 
fifth-man (13th place - 18.58).  Cheney's race was a comeback of sorts as he's been out of the scoring column for the last four races.  
Nate Hollis (15th - 19.10) and Christian Marrero (16th - 19.22) were J-E's sixth and seventh runners.
     "This was such a nice day for everyone, with the ceremony and the picnic and all" said J-E cross country supporter George 
Betts, who continues to attend cross country meets despite the graduation of his two daughters who ran for J-E.  As many in the 
J-E community know quite well, cross country, October, and Jordan-Elbridge are one and the same.
 
October 15, 2011                                                                                Edition - No. 9
The Eagle Harrier
Sectional Prep! 
 
Jamesville, New York – The state-ranked Eagles from J-E took proved to be worthy of the competition on the course that will host this 
year’s Sectionals in three weeks.  In Saturday’s Chittenango Invitational, the Boys Varsity took sixth out of 20 squads; the Junior Varsity 
Team was third out of 10. Definitely a day that the Eagles shone brightly despite the contrary weather that central New York was having.
     
Senior Stephen Slonosky continued his quest for a state meet birth as he was the top Eagle finisher for the eighth-straight race in 2011.  
Slonosky finished in fifth place in the Varsity ‘1’ Race in a time of 17 minutes and 37.3 seconds.  Slonosky’s time was the 20th fastest on 
the day compared to 742 boys who competed on the 3.1 mile Jamesville Course.  Even better for Stephen is that only class C runners 
Brendan Smith (16.47) from CBA, Sam Anderson (17.15) from South Lewis, Alex Mirra (17.33) from Tully and Hannibal’s Ben Griffin 
(17.21) were faster.  Slonosky was the 10th-ranked Class C runner entering into Saturday’s race, and he beat four harriers ranked above 
him.  “Stevie really got out and mixed it up today” said J-E Coach Roman, “he got our hard for a change (5.09 1st mile) and raced.” 
     J-E finished sixth with 179 points behind Baldwinsville (71), Tully (92), Ilion (153), J-D (158), and Utica Proctor (162). In the merged 
results, J-E was the 18th fastest squad out of 60 that competed.  The Eagles got a bit of redemption by beating Solvay in the merged 
results.  Solvay had defeated J-E just last week in their dual meet.  The rest of the scorers for J-E were senior Mitch Alpha 
(21st place – 18.12), sophomore Dylan Whittico (48th place – 19.09), freshman Nathan Hollis (54th place – 19.19), and junior 
Christian Marrero (69th place – 19.55.3).  This was Marrero’s first opportunity to score in a varsity race.  “I felt bad for senior 
Ben Cheney would was racing on a very sore hip today” said Roman, “Christian edged him at the finish line for top-five honors.” 
Ben Cheney and fellow senior Eric Gross were 70th (19.55.7) and 91st (21.05) respectively.  “We raced today minus three of our 
normal scorers” said Roman, but all three should be back in the lineup soon.”  “Most of my scorers had their best speed rating of 
the season as a result of their efforts, Steve’s was 161, Mitch got his up to 151, Dylan’s rose to 132, Nathan’s went up to 128, and 
Christian’s rose to 117.”  
     The Junior Varsity Squad was third with 96 points, only trailing class A powers Central Square (34) and Baldwinsville (40).  
Jacob Patterson led the squad by finishing 12th in 20.01.  Patterson got out quickly off the starting line and just missed a top 10 finish.  
Jared Bard was 14th (20.10),outkicking Coach Roman’s son Ryan down the last 50 meters of the race, Nick Parkolap was 21st (20.31), 
Jay Paquette was 28th (20.47), and David Fixler was 29th (20.48).  This was the first time that Paquette and Fixler ever scored for the 
J-E Junior Varsity.  Also racing for the Eagles were Austin Milton (33rd place – 20.58), Bill DiRenzo (47th place – 21.42), Dean 
Comstock (54th place – 21.55), Nick Muehlberger (58th – 22.09), Gunnar Ferris (83rd place – 24.14), Tyler May (95th place – 27.29), 
and John Winkler (97th place – 28.09).
     J-E travels to Marcellus on Wednesday for its final dual meet.  “We are fine-tuning for Sectionals as we now only have four more 
races to go” said Coach Roman.  “We should be healthy and hungry come November and today’s Sectional prep should prove valuable.