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September 19, 2009                                                                              Edition - No. 3
The Eagle Harrier
Stanton Tall in Herculean Feat!!!
Fastest Time of the Day by JE Star

Jamesville, New York - A little more than eleven months ago on this very same cross country course, the J-E Eagles were sent home disappointed. They had tied for the Sectional Championship but were losers in the tie breaker. J-E ventured back to the Jamesville Beach shores on Saturday to gain a little bit of redemption and to get a practice race on the site of this year's sectionals. The results were impressive. As a team, J-E stood tall against some state ranked class AA teams finishing an impressive third. What was more impressive was how senior Cody Stanton took apart the course and race field. Stanton won the Boys ‘2' Race, his second win in-a-row, in the fastest time of the day. Cody blitzed the course in 15.40, his personal record and perhaps the fastest 5 K time ever by a J-E runner. There were 485 male runners who raced on Saturday, and Stanton was the fastest. His time bettered sectional and state champs Alex Hatz and Chris Stogsdill's time from 2008! "This is pretty good company" said J-E Coach Roman, to beat Shaun Thompson and to be faster than Hatz and Stogs".
At the onset of the race Saturday, there were a group of about outstanding runners, any of whom could have won the race. Three were from Baldwinsville, two were from Tully, and two were J-E runners. "I ran the race today just like I won sectionals last year" said an excited Stanton, "I waited until the second loop of the course and I surged past Thompson". "He never responded and I ran ahead of him the rest of the way".
Senior Mike Marrero also in the lead pack for a while, but was unable to stay there with Stanton and the B'ville pack. "My hamstrings are really aching right now, and every time I tried to surge they killed me" said a sweaty Marrero. "I'm not too disappointed though, I ran my PR today and am way faster than last year". Marrero was 7th overall in the very fast race, only behind Stanton, three B'ville runners, and his nemesis from Tully - Ohure Sam. Sam and Marrero always seem to find each other in races. This time Ohure got the best of Mike.
As a squad, J-E took third in the Boys ‘2' race, behind winner Baldwinsville and runners up West Genesee. J-E's 95 points were ahead of Class A power Vestal (103) and Class C rival Tully (140). What proved to be most promising was the huge improvement by every J-E runner who competed. J-E's top five scorers were two minutes and 35 seconds ahead of the pace that they set in the 2008 sectionals. "I am very pleased at our negative splits said Coach Roman, Cody took off 52 seconds, Mike 44, Greg 22, Steve 14, and Tom took off 23 seconds". "We are getting faster each and every week".
Next for J-E was junior Greg Bader who was 23rd in 17.20. Nursing a cold and battling the tough field, Bader wasn't saying much after the race. "I don't know, I just didn't think I ran that well" was all Bader could muster. Not too far behind the junior was sophomore phenom Steve Slonosky who was 27th in 17.39. "I liked the hills" said Slonosky. Tom Poppe was J-E's fifth man, disappointed to finish a stride over the 18 minute mark (18.01) in 37th place overall. "I had a big time stitch in my side which sucked" said Poppe, "it really hurt".
"Pocket" Mitch Alpha made a return to the varsity squad and ran with a vengeance on Saturday. "I was really psyched to get to run with the varsity" said Alpha. Following Alpha's race where he finished just three places behind teammate Tom Poppe (41st/18.05), a more excited runner was not likely evident on the Jamesville Beach complex. "I took almost a minute off of my time from last year" a beaming Alpha proclaimed, I'm back"!
Carlin Coomey was 68th overall in 19.08, seven seconds and 4 places ahead of fellow junior Derrick Cheney (72nd/19.12). Both J-E harriers showed their outstanding ability to kick by opponents down the final stretch of races. "They've got great leg speed" said Coach Roman.
On the Junior Varsity front, only two J-E racers competed. Robbie Patterson achieved one of his season goals by breaking twenty minutes for a 5 K race. Patterson finished in 74th place in 19.59.6 seconds. "I wanted to break 20 minutes this year" said Patterson. Billy Direnzo completed his first three mile race and finished in 187th place (23.17), "an outstanding time for a rookie" added Coach Roman. "I was a little nervous before the race" said Direnzo.
On the Class C front, it became apparent that rival Holland Patent is alive and well. HP finished third in their race, but topped J-E in the merged race results. "Merged results are a mythical and often inaccurate creation that puts all the runners into one huge race" said J-E's Roman, then results are divvied up as if the race really occurred this way". "We were faster in pack time (84.53 to 85.35) and in average time (16.58 to 17.07), but lose to HP in the merge". "If you believe in the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny, you'll love merged results". "I don't pay much attention to them". "If you remember, we beat HP by almost 40 points last Saturday - head-to-head competition is the only thing that matters".
The quest for a state title continues on Wednesday for the Eagles as they travel to Cazenovia to battle the Caz. Lakers and the Hannibal Warriors. On Saturday, J-E travels to Baldwinsville. Stay tuned.